With a Monarch's Voice Cry Havoc! and Let Slip the Dogs of War
by grrlgeek72
Summary: Picking up where "Worthy Queen of Greatness" ended, we follow the Snow Queen of Arendelle as she heals up and prepares to bring havoc down on the Duke of Weselton's badly bewigged head. This is a darker Elsa, a more traumatized Elsa, who may have lost her way. Her political enemies continue to scheme in the shadows as Arendelle prepares for war.
1. The Color of Invisible Blood

**Chapter 1 – The Color of Invisible Blood**

**Author's Notes:**

This story immediately follows Worthy Queen of Greatness, and starts in November, 1840. It takes place in the alternate timeline of my headcanon universe. Up until the events of Worthy Queen, the two universes are the same, so there is a political plot simmering unknown to Elsa that began before she became Queen. (See 'The Spare' for details...[shameless plug])

I will include some flashbacks in this story to fill in backstory for those who have not read 'The Spare'. Trust me when I say the political plot will NOT go in the same way as it did in that story. This is, after all, a different universe.

In both universes, Elsa's Coronation Day was July 14, 1840, and the events of the movie ended with the Great Thaw on July 17, 1840.

**x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x**

**Marcus Antonius:**  
And Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge,  
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,  
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice  
Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war,  
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth  
With carrion men, groaning for burial.

Julius Caesar Act 3, scene 1, 270–275

**x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x**

_Violence does not always take visible form, and not all wounds gush blood._

– _**Haruki Murakami, 1Q84**_

**x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x**

***** November, 1840 – Kingdom of Arendelle *****

Three weeks had passed since the battle to free Arendelle from the attackers, sent by the Duke of Weselton, who had taken Anna hostage. It had been a fierce, if brief, battle. The cost in casualties had been light, except for the families of the dead. For them, the cost had been infinitely high.

Queen Elsa of Arendelle stared at the fire in the library hearth, remembering.

_She was on her knees in front of her own throne, hands bound behind her back, glaring at the enemy commander sprawled arrogantly on her throne. His men had dragged her in here from the castle courtyard, tripping her and twisting their fists into her hair to pull her back on her feet. They had intended to degrade and intimidate her. She was not intimidated. She was, however, afraid, but her fear was more for her sister Anna than for her own safety. Elsa was afraid that her plan to defeat these enemies of Arendelle would fail, leaving the kingdom helpless and the two sisters dead. _

The Duke had been clever; he knew he needed some way to neutralize the magic power of the Snow Queen of Arendelle. His leverage had been Princess Anna, the younger sister of the Queen. The two women had been separated for thirteen years but that had not been long enough for them to lose the love they had for each other. The Duke's men kidnapped Anna while the Queen was on a visit to a nearby town; they threatened to kill her if Elsa did not submit to their demands. Of course Elsa submitted.

_She remembered how she had walked up to the enemy officer and said, "I'm ready. Let's go."_

_She remembered the pain as they twisted her arms behind her and tied her wrists. Then more pain as the officer stepped close to Elsa and backhanded a hard slap across her face. The blow cut her lip and made her stumble to one knee. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth and her fear caused a small patch of ice to form on the pavement where she knelt. She had glared up at the officer. "What was that for?"_

_"A lesson. The first of many. You are helpless, and your kingdom belongs to us. Don't forget it."_

_She had been more frightened than she had ever been in her life; Colonel Nordholm had been appalled at her plan; it put her at the mercy of violent men; men who had no qualms about taking what they wanted from helpless women; __**anything**__ they wanted. She had told him she would not allow herself to be so violated, but if Anna were still at risk … she might have to._

Ice began to form on the floor beneath her as she sat in front of the fireplace caught in the spell of her daydream. They had confined her in her own dungeons, she had suffered night terrors beyond terrifying, then she had fought beside her guardsmen as they battled to escape and signal for help. At the last, she had confronted the commander of the Weselton forces and barely escaped with her life as her magic almost failed her.

_The Commander snarled and lunged forward to drive the point of his sword into Elsa's upper arm, pinning her to the door as the sword sank at least three inches into the wood. She screamed and dropped the sword. Blood ran freely from her wound, painting the door with a crimson streak. It was all she could do to remain upright, bracing herself against the door and trying to blink the tears out of her eyes so she could see her murderer. _

But she had found enough strength left to free herself, and Anna had brought a relief force to the castle that turned the tide of the battle.

Elsa remembered; and the ice grew spiky and angry as she did. She trembled and hugged herself as she tried to drive away the images of the fight, the smell of the blood, the pain of the sword driving into her body.

"_Anna ..." _She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and remembered her sister holding her as she lay on the pavement, spent from the loss of blood and the effort of the battle. She hugged herself, rocking back and forth as she was transported back to the courtyard and the life-or-death struggle there.

_She remembered feeling relief when Anna caught her as she slumped bonelessly to the cobblestones. She remembered her sister's gentle touch as Anna knelt and cradled Elsa in her arms, then tenderly brushed the sweat- and blood-soaked hair back from her face. Elsa's eyes were open but she couldn't seem to focus them on anything. She pawed clumsily for Anna's hand with her own, finally wrapping her fingers around it and squeezing weakly. _

"_Elsa!" _She heard her sister calling to her in her vision.

"ELSA!" Anna was shaking her shoulder, here in the room as well. "Elsa, it's me, it's okay, you don't have to be afraid, you're safe!" Anna had slipped on the icy floor, but managed to slide to her knees and hug her sister without falling flat on her face or impaling herself on an ice spike.

"Anna?" Elsa regained her awareness of where she was. "I'm … sorry. I'll fix it." A wave of her hand and the ice disappeared as though it had never been.

"Honey, are you okay?" Anna looked into her sister's eyes, looking for reassurance that she was back in the present.

"Y .. yes. I was just … re ... remembering," Elsa stuttered as she leaned into Anna's warmth.

"You promised you'd try not to do that when you're alone. So we could talk about it," Anna said as she hugged Elsa.

"It was a foolish promise, Anna. The memories just … come. A sound, a twinge in my arm, and suddenly I'm back then, scared out of my wits." Elsa shuddered and buried her face in her sister's shoulder.

Anna soothed her for a few minutes; this had happened almost every day since Elsa had healed enough to be allowed out of bed. She still wasn't strong enough to take up her duties as Queen, and Anna was still acting as her regent. This left Elsa with too much time to brood without Anna available to help her break out of the nightmarish flashbacks.

"Honey, when will you be able to take back the kingdom? I think me and the Council are both hoping you'll be back soon," Anna decided to try to distract her sister from the memories.

Elsa sniffled and wiped her cheeks as she sat up and looked at Anna. "I'm not sure. Maybe a week? The doctor said everything is healing nicely, and I'm certainly feeling stronger."

Anna stood, then helped Elsa get to her feet. "Good. But I think starting tomorrow you and I should spend some time in your study every day letting me catch you up on everything. The council has been meeting once a week because of all the cleanup and everything. Next week is the day for the regular monthly meeting, so we decided that would be a good time to go back to the normal schedule. We set up the agenda today, I think you should plan on taking over then, if you can."

The two sisters were walking down the hall toward their bedrooms, arm in arm.

"I would like that," Elsa said. "I'm so proud of how you've done as Regent, Anna. I don't know what the kingdom would have done without you."

"Well, what good's a spare if she's not ready when you need her? Although, I will confess that more often than I like admitting, I just put on what I call my 'Elsa face' and nod like I know what they're talking about." Anna showed Elsa the face she was talking about and was glad to get a giggle in response.

"Yes, well, don't tell anyone, but I do that too," Elsa confided sheepishly. "Some of the councilors are just … sooooo in love with the sound of their own voices that it almost drives me into a sound slumber."

The two sisters giggled together. Anna said, "I am so glad to hear you say that! I would be embarrassed to think I'm the only one who has to suppress the urge to get caught up on my sleep in those meetings."

They were in front of Elsa's bedroom door. Anna looked at her sister with concern and asked, "Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?" Elsa's nightmares had diminished in frequency, but every third night or so she would wake up screaming.

Elsa hugged Anna and said, "I feel okay now. I think I'll be fine tonight." She made a wry face, "And it's not as though you won't know if I have a bad dream." Anna's room was close enough that the sound of Elsa screaming easily woke the younger woman.

"Okay. But let me put you to bed, at least?" Anna led her sister into the bedroom and sat her down in front of the vanity. "Hand me your hair brush, honey."

Humming softly, Anna loosened Elsa's braid and began to brush out the tangles and snarls of the day. With each stroke of the brush through her thick hair Elsa felt some of the tension in her body ease as well. The pure sensuous joy of Anna's touch lulled her halfway toward sleep. Eyes closed, her hands relaxed in her lap, Elsa could pretend they were little girls again and this was part of their nightly ritual.

She was sorry when the task was finished and Anna helped her remove her dressing gown and tucked her into bed; it felt so good. Elsa let herself relax and let Anna mother her; there were so many long years of isolation to be made up for. Each of these moments were precious to Elsa; she hoarded them against need, in case … in case …

"No bad dreams, tonight, understand? Think happy thoughts, like, playing with Olaf and me in the courtyard," Anna kissed her sister tenderly on the cheek and left for her own room. Elsa slipped the rest of the way into slumber before the door had clicked shut.

There were no bad dreams.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

**** Flashback - August, 1840 - Weselton - Palace of the Duke of Weselton ****

The Duke of Weselton's butler announced his visitor. "Mr. Anders Reinertsen, Your Grace."

"Hello, again, Your Grace. It is good to see you again," Reinertsen nodded to his host.

The Ducal Palace was opulent to the point of ostentatious extravagance. It was large, he had thought, as the butler led Reinertsen from the enormous entrance foyer, through long hallways back to the patio overlooking the lush garden. The furnishings and _objets d'art _scattered on pedestals and hanging on the walls were impressive and intimidating to the Arendelle merchant. In his own kingdom, Reinertsen was considering very wealthy; the Ducal Palace made him feel like a pauper.

"Harrumph, yes, well, I am still greatly annoyed at that … monster … ruling Arendelle. Has your country chafed under her rule, yet? Will they be deposing her any time soon?" The Duke waved his visitor to a chair on the patio, in the shade where the heat of an August day in Weselton could be enjoyed rather than endured.

"Ah, I'm afraid not, Your Grace. She seems intent on toadying to the mob, apologizing profusely and making a show of traveling about the kingdom in some sort of attempt at expiation of the damage she's done. So far, most people seem to be accepting her efforts. There's always a few disgruntled trouble makers in any kingdom, but for now there doesn't seem to be enough of them to make her worry about a rebellion," Reinertsen settled himself comfortably and in response to a polite query from a footman asked for a cool drink.

"Well, we can exploit that. I intend to make her pay for the insult she has done to me! To pay for the damage she has done to our business. My profits are down substantially, and I can't believe yours are in any better shape," the Duke glared at Reinertsen.

The two men had been doing business for years before Elsa of Arendelle had become Queen. At one time, Reinertsen had served on the Royal Advisory Council. Unfortunately for him, Elsa had exposed him in a scheme to profit from a shady trade deal with Weselton and removed him from the Council. He had been contemptuous of her rule before that, but since that humiliation he had seethed and looked for any opportunity to take his revenge on her. He was interested in what the Duke had planned, and his visit here had been set up when the Duke had been kicked out of Arendelle in the days after the Great Thaw.

"What are you thinking we should do about it, Your Grace?" Reinertsen accepted his drink from the butler, then sipped at it appreciatively while he waited for the Duke to respond. The ice cubes in the glass clinked softly, and Reinertsen wondered idly where the Duke was purchasing ice now that Arendelle refused to do business with him.

The little man was a bundle of nervous energy, pacing around the shaded patio while his guest watched.

"I intend to send an expedition to take that smug smile off her face," he declared.

"Ah, Your Grace, isn't that somewhat … futile? I mean, with her magic, she could simply freeze whatever ships you send and let her Navy and Marines detain your forces," protested Reinertsen. "Even without magic, the Arendelle Navy is skilled and vigilant. Your Navy has no chance against them. Forgive me if I seem … skeptical, but your Duchy is not known for the size and power of your fleet."

The Duke stopped and scowled at Reinertsen, who worried that he had insulted his host, then said, "Ah, but I have a plan to neutralize that witch's magic **and** her Navy!"

Startled, Reinertsen said, "How? That seems … incredible. Have you sought out scholars who study the arcane arts, have they discovered the roots of her powers and how they can be negated?"

"Nothing so complicated! It is a simple matter of striking at her heart, at that which she holds most dear, Anders! If Princess Anna is our captive, she is proof against any move that the Queen or her armed forces might make. So I plan to have my men take the Princess hostage before we reveal ourselves as invaders."

Reinertsen looked thoughtful as he considered what the Duke had said. "I admit, it was somewhat of a surprise when the two women reconciled after that disastrous coronation fiasco. You think that a threat to kill the Princess will tie the Queen's hands? She might shrug it off, let your men murder the Princess and then kill your entire invading force, after which she will come looking for you."

"My agents tell me that this will work. And my Navy will not be involved, so that is where you come in."

"Me?" squeaked Reinertsen. He was no military expert, why would the Duke look to him for this?

"Yes, I need your contacts in the shipping trade to hire ships and their crews. They will sail peacefully into Arendelle's harbor looking like innocent merchant ships. I will provide the soldiers that will make up the invading force that will be hidden below decks. Once the Princess is safely aboard one of the ships as a prisoner, their true purpose will be revealed in a demand to the Queen to submit or watch her sister die."

"You're sure this will work? It still seems risky." Reinertsen was rather more wary of Elsa's power than the Duke apparently was.

The Duke waved off his objection, "Yes, this will work. She will submit, we will plunder the kingdom of Arendelle until there isn't a loose skilling left, and then we will split the profits evenly when those spoils are returned here to Weselton. This will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams of avarice, Anders."

"Or it will get me hung as a traitor," muttered Reinertsen.

"'Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.' " quoted the Duke. "If we prosper, she won't be able to call it treason, you fool. She'll be dead! I intend to have her brought here for trial as a witch and then execute her. Leaving the kingdom in the hands of a grieving and terrorized Princess. Who I may marry off to a likely consort that can keep her too busy raising hoards of squalling brats to bother us with some plan of revenge."

The Duke poured himself a drink, then refilled the glass on the table next to his guest. "A toast, Anders. Let us drink to our partnership in exploiting the riches of Arendelle!"


	2. Two Steps Back

**Chapter 2 – Two Steps Back**

_If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared._

_**\- Niccolo Machiavelli **_

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa was preparing herself to take back the governing of Arendelle from Anna. Today she would attend her first Royal Council meeting since the attack. Anna had been doing a fine job as Regent, although Elsa wasn't sure who would be happier with Elsa's return: Anna, or the Royal Council. She suspected it would be close to a tie, albeit for different reasons. Anna, because she wanted Elsa to be well again; the Council, because they had discovered that Elsa's style was rather more … tactful than her sister's.

She sat at her dressing table, staring at the woman in the mirror. Her hair was flawless, her dress perfect. She was ready. Elsa stood, then picked up the last item to complete her ensemble for today. Pulling on the soft kidskin gloves, she left her room to join her Royal Advisory Council to decide how best to let the Duke know what a mistake he had made.

Anna met her sister in the hall on the way to the Royal Council Chamber. There had been an early morning meeting with Admiral Naismith that Anna had chosen to skip. The Queen hadn't told her the topic that would be discussed, and it was just as well Anna had chosen to sleep in. Elsa was sure the meeting would have upset Anna.

"Elsa, how are you going to handle..." Anna stopped abruptly as she saw something she had hoped she would never see again. "What are those?"

"What are what, Anna?" Elsa responded nonchalantly.

"Those!" Anna pointed at Elsa's hands. She was wearing gloves. Soft, flesh-colored kidskin gloves, inconspicuous if you weren't looking too closely. But gloves nonetheless. "Why are you wearing gloves again?" Anna was stunned.

Elsa shrugged, "My hands are cold."

"Wow, Elsa ... you really should have thought this through a little more; that's the worst rationalization I've ever heard!" Anna exclaimed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Anna. It's a common side effect of ... blood loss. The physician told me that. I'm still not ... completely well."

"If you think I'm buying that excuse you're right ... you're not completely well, your judgment is damaged."

"Please, Anna, drop it. We have more important things to deal with today. This council meeting will address one of the most momentous situations this kingdom has faced in over a hundred years," Elsa looked sternly at her sister.

Anna dropped it but only because they had arrived at the door of the Council chamber. It would hardly do for the two of them to bicker in front of the Royal Advisory Council. Anna made a note that during tonight's snack after dinner in the library they would be addressing the topic of the gloves whether Elsa wanted to or not. Their time in the library was more private than dinner and Anna suspected that her sister might be more open if it were just the two of them.

Elsa had asked Kai to announce her and Anna. She didn't usually conduct the Council meetings with such formality, but since grave decisions would be made today Elsa felt the need to acknowledge that this was no routine meeting.

Kai was waiting for them at the door to the Council chamber. At Elsa's nod, he opened the doors, stepped inside and announced, "Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle; Her Royal Highness, Princess Anna of Arendelle!" The men in the room rose and bowed as the two of them stepped into the room and seated themselves, Anna taking her place at Elsa's right hand.

A gesture from Elsa to the room and everyone sat down and waited attentively for her to speak. She could feel the tension. Arendelle was already at war; today's meeting would only formalize that situation. But there were other matters of life and death to address as well.

The Royal Advisory Council of Arendelle had seven members. There were three additional men sitting at the Council table today: Colonel of Marines Lars Nordholm, Senior Navy Captain Rolf Wigdahl , and Captain of the Queen's Own Guard Eric Gunnarsson. They each had reports to make to the Council.

"Gentlemen, we will set aside our usual agenda for today. I know that you have been tireless in repairing the damage done to the kingdom by the abhorrent actions of the Weselton forces, and you have my heartfelt thanks for your diligence," Elsa began. She gestured at the woman seated to her right, "And I also offer my gratitude to my sister, Princess Anna, for her actions as Regent in my absence. I could not be prouder of her." She smiled warmly as Anna blushed, only able to nod in acknowledgment of Elsa's words. It was not often anyone saw Anna speechless.

Elsa's expression became stern as she went on, "But now we must make hard decisions about our response to the harm that has been done. By attacking us, the Duke of Weselton has declared war on Arendelle. We repulsed his cowardly attack, and punished those criminals who invaded our kingdom. Since they wore no colors and claimed no allegiance to Weselton, they declared themselves pirates and were tried as such."

One of the Councilors spoke up, "Your Majesty, if they were pirates, how can we hold the Duke accountable for this attack?"

"Although the Duke was too craven to send his own navy in open battle, we know that he was the author of these atrocities, his minions were quite open about who sent them. He cannot **hide** behind the fiction of 'pirates'. Now he must pay. The question before us is, how?" Elsa nodded at Admiral Naismith to continue.

High Admiral of the Navy Mikael Naismith was the highest ranking officer of the Arendelle military, in overall command of Elsa's armed forces. He stood and gestured at Colonel Nordholm and Captain Wigdahl.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, gentlemen. Colonel Nordholm and Captain Wigdahl will report on the readiness of the armed forces of Arendelle to undertake whatever punitive actions the Crown requires of it."

Nordholm went first. "Your Majesty, Arendelle has two regiments of Marines available to sail on any expedition you choose to send to take our revenge on Weselton. I would suggest that we would only need to send one regiment, with the rest remaining here to defend the kingdom against any other adventurism on the part of known or unknown enemies."

Nordholm sat, and Wigdahl stood to continue the report.

"Your Majesty, the Duke is an avaricious man who believes in profit above all else. What that means for us is that his navy is weak and undermanned. That's one of the reasons he turned to mercenaries for his attack on Arendelle. He is content to leech off the efforts of other kingdoms to combat piracy. Frankly, his merchant fleets are only safe because of our efforts and that of Corona. We could destroy what navy he has easily. They would be no deterrent to our sailing into his harbor and burning the port and everything in it to the ground."

He bowed and sat down again. There was silence for a few moments. Then Elsa spoke,

"As I recovered from my injuries, gentlemen, I had more than enough time to consider what might be an appropriate response to the Duke's treachery. The Duke attacked Arendelle because of his fear of my 'sorcery' as he called it. He thinks of me as a monster. It may be appropriate to show him what type of monster he risked bringing to his shores." Elsa's words were calm and measured, but there was a subtle undertone of anger in her voice. She continued, "I believe that if I accompany the expedition and demonstrate how easily I can create a wasteland of snow and ice, it would make a more profound impression on the Duke and his forces than a more … conventional military response might."

Her words created a murmur of chatter around the table and a startled frown from Anna as she looked at her sister, surprised at this grim and ruthless proposition.

Naismith was also surprised at her words, although he tried not to show it. Elsa had spent thirteen years hiding her powers for fear of hurting anyone. He had been privy to the information about her magic, had in fact been recruited by her to build a dungeon and manacles to confine her if she lost control of her power. He had not thought she would ever consider being used as a weapon. He had to admit he found this willingness to be so used … disturbing.

"What do you suggest for the attack on Weselton, Your Majesty?" Naismith was curious as to what she would consider.

"I would sail with the fleet to challenge the Duke. It seems to me that an overwhelming show of force, including a large dose of ice and snow would be most persuasive to suggest that attacking Arendelle is a poor choice of policy. Tactical details, of course, I would leave to you and other military experts. You should consider the best use of my magic to increase the impact of our raid. If we use it aggressively, your ships and the Marines may not have to fire a single shot."

She went on, "Admiral, I think that you and your staff should create detailed plans that we can review in one week's time. I will come to the Admiralty for that review." Naismith nodded, still taken aback by the grim display of vengeful retaliation that his Queen seemed ready to bring down on the Duke.

"Ah, Your Majesty?" Baron Bjorn Thorstad, one of the council members who had served since before her father had been lost at sea, raised a hand to get her attention after a moment of thought.

"Yes, Your Grace?" She seemed distracted, his question brought her focus back to the room.

Thorstad cleared his throat and then said, "It occurs to me that we should hit the Duke where it hurts the most – in his pocketbook." Thorstad's wealth and influence in Arendelle was based on a flourishing trading enterprise. Of course he would think in terms of economic power rather than military power.

"One prong of our strategy will be the use of military force to confront the Duke. In addition, there should be a diplomatic effort to convince other trading partners of Weselton that Arendelle will not look kindly on those who chose to continue that trade. If they wish to do business with us, or remain on good terms with us, then they must shun the Duke for his vicious and duplicitous policies; policies that are indifferent to their human costs."

His suggestion caused everyone at the table to pause and consider what he was suggesting. Elsa nodded, "You may be right, Your Grace. I will so instruct our diplomatic corps. I am sure they will be seeking your advice, and the advice of the other trading houses as to which of Weselton's trading partners would be most amenable to that reasoning."

Thorstad made a little half-bow to her in acknowledgment.

After a moment or two of silence, Elsa looked around the table again and said, "There is another matter to be discussed, and that is the matter of treason."

"Treason, Your Majesty?" asked another council member.

"Yes. The Admiral and select members of his staff and the Gendarmerie have been following up on the provenance of the ships and men that were sent here by the Duke. It seems that some of our own people were involved in this hideous plot." She nodded at Colonel Nordholm.

Nordholm laid a folder on the table. "Our investigation was absolutely conclusive. There is no doubt that Anders Reinertsen conspired with Weselton. Once we untangled the rather convoluted business relationships hidden in his business files, those ships that brought the attack force here had a paper trail leading straight back to him."

She looked at her Council and said, "It has been over a century since Arendelle last dealt with treason by one of our own people. The penalty for such a repulsive crime has always been death. I see no reason to mitigate that penalty against those who have conspired with the Duke to bring such a threat to our shores." Her voice was no longer calm; it had gained a sharper edge.

The Council was startled at her ferocity. On top of her willingness to personally go off to do battle with her magic, this was a disconcerting change in someone who had previously demonstrated a firm but gentle hand in her approach to ruling Arendelle.

"Your Majesty, I beg your pardon, but is this not a matter for your courts to adjudicate?" asked Thorstad.

"No, it is not, Baron Thorstad. The Throne retains the power of High and Low justice in this kingdom. The courts have the power that We have delegated to them. We do not choose to delegate that power in this case."

Elsa's expression was colder than her own ice. "There is only one penalty for such perfidious treason, and that penalty is death. The evidence that has been presented to me is clear and irrefutable. I find Anders Reinertsen guilty of High Treason against Arendelle and sentence him to death. I dispatched members of the Guard and Marines to arrest him before this meeting began. He will not escape the Crown's justice."

The Admiral spoke up. "We placed a discreet watch on Reinertsen yesterday to insure that he does not elude us. When we arrest him, we will be interested in what he has to say in his defense. If there are mitigating circumstances, although I confess I cannot imagine such, Her Majesty may display mercy. Perhaps as an alternative to hanging he will be interested in discussing any … compatriots besides the Duke that he may have in this scheme."

The silence in the room was so complete that Elsa thought she could hear Anna's heart pounding as she sat next to her.

The Queen took a deep breath, then said, "I believe that concludes our business for today, gentlemen. Thank you for your diligence and loyalty to Arendelle. We will resume our usual process next month when we meet as scheduled. Agenda items will be distributed one week prior as is our procedure. If you have any items you would like to review, please get them to Kai prior to that." Elsa was dismissing them to end the meeting.

Elsa and Anna rose and swept from the room to the bows of the Council members. When they were sure that the two women were gone and out of earshot, conversations began.

Torbjørn Solheim had joined the council two years before Elsa's coronation. He had replaced the disgraced and traitorous Anders Reinertsen and did extensive business with him. "She can't do that, can she? It's … unconscionable!" he exclaimed.

Naismith finished stuffing his notes into his portfolio and didn't bother even looking at Solheim. "She can do it and she has. Her Majesty is quite cognizant of her duties and responsibilities in this regard, Solheim. I suggest that you shut up."

Solheim sputtered indignantly, "How dare you? She is acting like an oppressive despot, this is most disturbing and unprecedented in this kingdom."

The Admiral stood, tucked his portfolio under his arm and glared at the indignant little man and said, "I dare because this kingdom has taken a great blow. An **unprecedented** attack that cost us lives and treasure; that could have cost us our Queen and her sister and left our people destitute. Whatever we do to Weselton is barely enough to repay the Duke for his perfidy. And anyone of our own people that chose to join that perfidy in a quest for gold to line their own pockets deserves something far more ugly than hanging."

Solheim was taken aback and quailed at the ferocity in the Admiral's demeanor. He had nothing more to say as the Admiral left the room.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

After meeting with the Admiral prior to the Council meeting, Elsa had directed that Guards and Marines be dispatched to the home of Anders Reinertsen to arrest him before any word of his condemnation by the Queen could leak and cause him to flee.

A Major of Marines led the party. "You men, go around back and make sure he doesn't scurry out before we can arrest him."

After a minute or two to allow them to position themselves, the major pounded on the door of the manor and shouted, "Anders Reinertsen, open up in the name of the Queen!"

There was no response.

He gestured to two of the Marines. "Break it down. We don't have time for excessive courtesy."

The door was stout, but not stout enough to resist the boots of two burly Marines. The major and ten Marines entered the house. "Go, search the place. If he's here, we'll be taking him back to the castle and introduce him to the dungeons until the Queen can get the gallows built."

Only a few moments had passed before one of the Marines returned to the foyer where the major was waiting. "Sir, we found him. You need to come see this."

The Marine led the Major to a large bedroom. There was a rather messily dead body lying on the bed, a pistol in his hand and the top of his head splattered over the wall and headboard.

"Reinertsen, it seems, chose not to wait for the Queen's justice," commented the Major.

"There's a note over here on the dresser, sir," pointed out one of the men. The Major walked over to pick up and read the note. It was a confession of Reinertsen's treason and a statement that he chose to leave this world under his own terms rather than face the hangman.

"Well, that's that. Wrap him up in a sheet or something, boys. We'll turn him over to the Gendarmerie for processing; they deal with suicides."

The Major stalked out of the bedroom, ordering most of the men to set up a guard perimeter around the house. He was sure that the Admiral would want a thorough search of the house and Reinertsen's business office. They would seek out any clues to who might have conspired with him in his treason.

"Sergeant, I suspect the Council meeting isn't over yet. I am leaving you in charge here while I return to the castle and report to the Queen, the Admiral and Colonel Nordholm. If any of his servants show up, detain them for questioning."

As he mounted up to ride back to the castle he wondered if the Queen would be glad there would be no need for the public spectacle of a hanging.


	3. Two Words

**Chapter 3 – Two Words **

"_Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell." _  
**― Walter Scott, **_**The Heart of Midlothian **_

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa returned to her study with Anna trailing after her. "Elsa, wait, we need to talk!" the Princess said.

Throwing her gloves down on her credenza, Elsa sat behind her desk and rubbed her temples, trying to soothe a splitting headache. She had not slept well the night before, the early meeting with the Admiral had been tense and the discussions during the Council meeting had almost pushed her into a panic attack. The necessity to control her powers and maintain a stoic demeanor had caused clenched teeth and fists, always guaranteed to give her a headache. "About what, Anna?"

Her sister stood glaring at her, hands on her hips, trying to control her irritation. "Let's start with you sailing off like some Angel of Death to Weaseltown. Is that really necessary? Haven't you been in enough danger lately? You said it yourself, you're not completely healed. Not to mention the fact that you have never before in your life demonstrated any of the sort of ruthless thirst for retribution I'm seeing now!"

Elsa replied with an attempt to placate her sister, "It won't be dangerous. You heard the Colonel. Weselton has no force strong enough to resist us. And the invasion won't be for at least several weeks, perhaps months, and I will be completely healthy by then." Elsa continued to rub her temples, her eyes closed in a grimace of pain.

Anna sat on a side chair, bothered with what she was seeing in Elsa. "But, but ..." she really didn't know what else to say. She just knew that Elsa wasn't quite right, and it worried her.

"Anna, you have been more than adequate as Regent in my absence, but I am still the Queen, and I will not be challenged on this matter!" Elsa's harsh tone made it clear she wanted no more reproach from Anna and the rebuke stung a little.

Before they could continue the conversation, there was a knock at the door. It was Kai. "Your Majesty, the Admiral is here, and he has something urgent he wishes to discuss with you."

Elsa dropped her hands from her head and sat up straight. What could this possibly be about that they hadn't already discussed this morning? "Please come in, Admiral."

Anna wondered if she should leave but decided to stay. She was still worried about Elsa and as Regent she had the right to be here for whatever the Admiral had to report.

The Admiral entered the study, trailed by Nordholm and a Marine Major Elsa didn't know. "Your Majesty, the Major here has just returned from his attempt to arrest Anders Reinertsen."

Elsa sat bolt upright and laid her hands on her desk, where a small patch of ice immediately formed under them. "Attempt, Admiral? Did he escape your forces then?"

"He chose to stand before a higher justice than yours, Your Majesty. We found him dead by his own hand and a note saying he preferred not to face the hangman," the Major explained.

The news stunned both women. It had never occurred to Elsa that Reinertsen would do something like kill himself. For all her bravado in the Council meeting, she hadn't really looked forward to executing him. She had harbored the thought that he had some defense that would allow her to mitigate the penalty to something harsh, but less than a death sentence.

The silence dragged out until Naismith cleared his throat and asked, "What should we do now, Your Majesty?"

Elsa looked at him quizzically, "What is there to do, Admiral?"

"Ah, well, there are his estates and other assets. As a traitor, they would normally escheat to the Crown."

She hadn't even thought of that. It had been so long since an act of treason had been committed in the kingdom that she hadn't finished doing her research of the legal ramifications of everything that could be done to punish the traitors. She had planned on a meticulous review of the legal precedents based on the assumption that Reinertsen would be safely locked away while she did so.

"What about his family?" Anna spoke up. "Have they been notified?" She suppressed the urge to demand of her sister,_ "Are you planning to arrest them, too, just in case?" _ In the mood she was in, Elsa wouldn't appreciate any comment that could be taken as censure, but Anna worried that Elsa had lost sight of justice in a focus on vengeance.

The comment pulled Elsa out of her reverie, family was another thing she hadn't thought about.

"Does he have many family?" Elsa had been so fixated on Reinertsen that it had never occurred to her that there might be people close to him involved in the treason. Or, not involved. She wasn't sure what Anna was trying to imply and she felt confused.

"He has no siblings, his parents are dead. Aunts and uncles are all that are left," replied the Admiral.

Elsa thought for a few minutes. "His lands and assets are forfeit to the crown, but there will be no corruption of the blood, unless you have evidence his family was involved, Admiral?" She looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"No, Your Majesty. If he had accomplices, they were not members of his family."

"Well, then, that's that," Elsa finished. "Thank you, Admiral, Colonel, Major." She was clearly dismissing them. Rising, they bowed and took their leave.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Dinner that night was quiet. Elsa usually had little to say unless Anna drew her into conversation and tonight Anna was subdued by the gravity of the day's events. The short weeks she had been acting as Regent had opened her eyes to realities that she had really never considered before; it gave her a new appreciation for what Elsa dealt with every day while making it seem so effortless. It scared her a little. As Regent, she could turn the kingdom and the burden back over to Elsa. If something … more permanent … happened to her sister, the crown landed on Anna's head and would stay there. This prospect was suddenly very real, and very scary.

Anna moved the food on her plate around aimlessly while thinking that she hoped Elsa lived to be 100.

"Anna!" Elsa's voice pierced through Anna's wandering thoughts and startled her back to the dinner table.

"Huh?" She looked up to see that Elsa was looking at her with some unease. "Did you say something, Elsa?"

"I asked if you would like some dessert. It's unusual for you not to react to that. Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine, just thinking. You know how that is, you do it all the time," Anna replied sheepishly.

This elicited a small smile from Elsa. "What were you thinking that distracted you from dessert?"

Anna's face fell into a grimace. "The whole day was just … overwhelming. How do you DO this?"

Elsa was equally serious as she responded, "It's … what I was trained for, honey. Although, honestly, the past month has been like a nightmare out of the long-dead history of the kingdom." She gestured to the footman to serve dessert and coffee and the conversation lagged again.

As they left the dining room, Elsa took Anna's hand and said, "Do you want to talk about today some more? I … I know it was distressing, and I hate having to put the burden on you."

Anna leaned into her sister and said, "Yeah, please. But what I really need you to do is to tell me how you manage all this without running off across the fjord screaming ..." and realized that she could have phrased that a little more tactfully as Elsa stopped walking abruptly and pulled her hand away.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!" Anna kicked herself for letting her mouth run without thinking about what she was saying. She approached Elsa slowly and held out her hand, when her sister was like this sudden moves were a bad idea.

Elsa stood shivering and hugging herself for a moment more, then looked at Anna, tried to smile and failed. "I didn't scream," she sighed. She let Anna take her hand again and they resumed walking toward the library.

They sat on the couch facing the fire, still hand in hand. Anna sat close enough to Elsa that she could feel her trembling slightly. Putting her head down on her sister's shoulder Anna whispered, "I really didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."

Elsa's shoulders slumped as she stared at the fire. She replied, "I know you didn't, Anna. You don't need to apologize."

After a few minutes, Elsa took a deep breath and sat up straighter. Looking at Anna, she said, "You wanted to talk about today?"

Anna sat up also, then said, "I was almost overwhelmed today. War with Weselton, treason … it's a lot to absorb all at once."

"I meant what I said at the meeting, Anna. You've done a fine job as Regent," Elsa assured her sister.

"Yeah, but … it's hard. How do you do it?"

"Well, I'm not the Regent, I'm the Queen," Elsa chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound and her joke fell flat.

Sobered by the sour expression on Anna's face, she said more seriously, "Training. Papa trained me for this. He made mistakes in some things, but not in this, at least. Now you know why I can be so … insistent about tutoring you."

Anna rolled her eyes. Since the Great Thaw, Elsa had spent at least two days a week tutoring Anna in affairs of state and the finer points of governance. "I promise I'll pay more attention from now on."

This time Elsa's chuckle was sincere, "You obviously have been paying enough attention, but I won't turn down the offer of more diligence." She stroked Anna's hand, she had longed to reach out every time Anna knocked on her door during the years of their separation. Now that there were no doors between them, she never missed an opportunity to feel the silky smooth warmth of Anna's touch.

But that gesture reminded Anna of the gloves. "Elsa, what was with the gloves today? I thought I'd never see you in them again."

Her sister shrugged, trying to make it seem unimportant. "I told you, Anna, it means nothing. I can control my magic, see?" She conjured up a small flurry in the hand Anna wasn't holding. She said nothing more.

Anna gave up trying to get Elsa to discuss the gloves; frankly they were the least troubling thing she was seeing in her sister today. She was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to broach the topic of Elsa's new-found aggressiveness with Elsa when her sister spoke up first.

"Anna, have you and Kristoff discussed courtship?" Elsa asked.

"Whoa, Elsa, that's kind of a personal question, don't you think?" Anna was blindsided by the subject. She had been taking it slow with Kristoff, having learned her lesson with Hans. They seemed to be starting with a close friendship, and she really hadn't thought that far ahead to anything involving romance or courtship.

"No, Anna, it is not a personal question. As your sister your marriage certainly concerns me, but as your Queen it is of paramount importance." Elsa's expression was uneasy, tense. "You know that royalty rarely have the luxury of a marriage of love. There is pressure for both of us to marry and have children. Many people would be appalled at the thought of you marrying a commoner like Kristoff; but if you love each other, I will do whatever is necessary to make your union a reality."

Anna was pouting as she listened to Elsa. The topic still unsettled her. It had only been four months since the disastrous mess with Hans, and she still had a lingering distrust of her own heart. "What's the rush, Elsa? I though you'd prefer that I take it slow."

She and Kristoff hadn't really discussed the implications of the fact that Anna was the heir and would take the throne if anything happened to Elsa. Until the mess with Weselton, Anna hadn't really considered it herself. Now she'd had a taste of governing as Regent, and the reality was far more daunting than any fairy tale princess story could be.

Elsa stood and began to pace, trying to put her whirling thoughts in order. Before the attack, Elsa had been so busy cleaning up the mess she had made of things that heirs were the last thing on her mind. She had Anna in the line of succession and that seemed it would suffice for now.

Then the attack had almost resulted in an Arendelle bereft of its entire royal family. That was an existential threat to her people, but it added another layer to Elsa's suffocating blanket of guilt. If things had gone wrong, if Arendelle had lost its monarchy, if her family's line had ended with her because she hadn't the foresight to insist on an adequate chain of succession, the fault would have been hers.

She finally responded to Anna's question, "Yes, I would. But that Weselton attack put both of us at risk. The kingdom could have been left with no one but our distant cousin left to take the throne." She wrung her hands as she paced; Anna knew that was a sign that Elsa was upset. "I would not want to force you into a marriage." She wouldn't look at Anna.

Something about that sentence bothered Anna. She figured it out. "Elsa, there's a world of difference between 'I would not want to force you' and 'I would not force you', isn't there?"

Elsa stopped dead and the guilt on her face was plain. The silence dragged on for a long moment before Elsa whispered, "Yes."

"Elsa, why is this MY problem all of a sudden? You're the Queen. I'm pretty sure that most everybody expects YOU to produce an heir!" Anna pushed back at being cornered into an obligation that chafed her. She crossed her arms and fell into a sullen pout. She was supposed to be just the spare, she knew that and accepted it. This sudden insistence of Elsa's on the succession being Anna's responsibility was bewildering and a little chilling.

"Anna?" Elsa was looking at her fretfully, hands wringing and clenching.

"Elsa, I don't know what else to say. I need to go think about this for a while." Anna stormed out the room so she wouldn't have the opportunity to say something she'd regret.

Elsa watched her go with dismay, not paying attention to the first tendrils of ice creeping up the walls of the room. She sat heavily on one of the chairs and stared at the fire until it was time for bed. She finally noticed the ice and waved it away as she left for her bedroom, hoping she could make it through the night without a nightmare. It was clear Anna wouldn't be there to comfort her tonight.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Anna stalked back to her room in a huff, flopped on her bed and glared at the ceiling. She hadn't been so mad at Elsa in a long time, certainly not since the Great Thaw. She wasn't quite sure **why** she was so mad. All Elsa had suggested was that Anna should marry Kristoff. She thought she loved him, she thought he loved her, but they had been taking it one day at a time. Why would that suggestion of marriage make her angry?

Maybe she was angry because it came out of nowhere and caught her by surprise. It was out of character for Elsa to even talk about marriage. She had listened to Anna's endless ramblings about Kristoff and Sven, smiling at the stories of the trouble Olaf and Sven could get into. Elsa had invited Kristoff to dinner every week or so, seemed to enjoy his company and would have given him a room in the castle if he had been willing to accept one. As it was, he preferred to stay in the rooms above the stable where the unmarried grooms lived. Anna knew that Elsa wanted happiness for Anna and would do whatever she could to insure it happened. But Elsa had been content to let events develop at their own pace up until now.

"_What's wrong with you, Anna? She's basically telling you to go ahead and marry the man you love! Why would that be something to get angry about?"_ Anna was having an argument in her head. With herself.

"_Do you love him? Really? How do you know that? You've only known him for four months!"_

"_At least it's more than four hours!"_

"_Let's not bring Hans into this discussion, puhleeze! That was something crazy and best forgotten."_

"_As long as you don't forget what a screwup that was! Kristoff loves you! And he's not even afraid of Elsa any more!"_

"_Yeah, well, ice is his life! Of course he wouldn't be afraid of someone who could build an Ice Palace!"_

"_Wait, what? This is nuts. My sister the Queen is telling me to marry the man that I think I love, and that I think loves me, and I'm having an argument about it? With myself? Anna, you have totally lost it."_

Anna decided that she was being irrational. That the reason she had gotten angry was because of the way Elsa had phrased it; the implication that she would force Anna into a marriage had unnerved Anna. This time, they were talking about Kristoff. But it meant that Elsa would actually consider a marriage for Anna that **wasn't** with Kristoff. That 'heir and the spare' nonsense crawled back into Anna's mind and added to her dismay. Anna was beginning to question her own judgment about her sister and her motivations.

But she knew that Elsa loved her, that she would never hurt her.

Then she remembered she had been wrong about that once before.

"_She didn't mean it, Anna, you know that. She didn't mean any of it!"_ Anna told herself.

Perhaps. But it had happened nonetheless.

Anna fell into the kind of self-disparagement she was often prone to. _"What is it with you, Anna? Why do you keep making assumptions about people? Assumption that turn out to be wrong."_

She started remembering another time she had been wrong about someone she felt close to. It had been a few weeks before the attack in October.

The kingdom's weather had been unusually warm for early fall, and Kristoff and the other ice harvesters had been busy supplying the ice necessary to preserve food. Smoked meat and fish were fine, but fresh was better as long as it could be managed.

So it had been ten days since she had seen him. He was too tired to do anything other than be lazy after a picnic lunch, so they were enjoying the afternoon in the shade of the castle wall overlooking the fjord. Kristoff was laying back against a napping Sven strumming softly on his lute while Anna sat next to him and read. Her voice was warm and expressive as she read him one of her favorite Shakespeare sonnets.

"_How would, I say, mine eyes be blessed made  
By looking on thee in the living day,  
When in dead night thy fair imperfect shade  
Through heavy sleep on sightless eyes doth stay?  
All days are nights to see till I see thee,  
And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me."_

Anna sighed as she finished, "Isn't that the most romantic thing you've ever heard, Kristoff? I've always like that poem so much!"

Kristoff played a few more bars, then looked up at her and replied, "I don't know. I think I've always liked

_'My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;  
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;  
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;  
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.'_."

"Wait, what? You're a fan of Shakespeare?" Anna looked at him, wide-eyed.

Kristoff started tuning one of the lute strings that sounded a little flat. Satisfied with the result, he glanced at her and said, "Yeah. Some of his stuff, anyway."

"I didn't think you could re … " Anna shut her mouth with a snap and blushed.

"Read? Yeah, one of the guys who I spent a lot of time with as an ice apprentice taught me. Ma taught me Futhark, but not a lot of use for that these days." He squinted closely at the tuning pegs thinking it might be time to carve some new ones.

Kristoff finally noticed that he was the only one making sounds and looked at Anna again. She was still blushing and had a very odd look on her face. He figured out why and said, "What, you didn't think I knew how to read?"

A tiny nod. "Kristoff, I'm sorry, I … " She was afraid she had insulted him and he'd never speak to her again. She buried her face in her hands, too embarrassed to look at him.

He shrugged and started playing a little tune that he knew she liked. "A lot of city people think country people are ignorant and unschooled. You're not the first one. I've been able to use that in business, sometimes."

In a very small voice, Anna asked, "You have? How?"

"Well, if the guy you're trying to sell ice to thinks you're too stupid to do simple arithmetic, he'll try to cheat you. When you catch him at it and point out the 'error' in his figures, and maybe growl a little while you do it, he's pretty eager to show his good faith and tack a little extra on." A smirk as he went on, "I'd never turn down an extra profit. I figure it's tuition for teaching the guy that cheating people was a bad idea."

That was the first time that Anna realized there were depths to Kristoff she hadn't considered yet, that maybe her sheltered upbringing had sheltered her from more than how to recognize manipulative princes.

Still staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, she continued down the spiral of beating herself up for her terrible skills at figuring people out. Elsa, Hans, Kristoff. She couldn't do anything right.

She got up, undressed and got into her nightgown, then crawled back into bed, huddling under the blankets, wishing for the warmth of her sister beside her, yearning for the comfort of Elsa's tender embrace to banish these doubts. Anna knew the argument was her fault, but some streak of stubborn pride kept her from going to her sister's room and apologizing.

"_I'll apologize at breakfast_," was her last thought as she fell into an uneasy sleep, dreaming of wolves, and swords, and icy statues on the fjord. She whimpered but didn't scream.


	4. The Courtship of Elsa's Sister

**Chapter 4 – The Courtship of Elsa's Sister**

_"Our wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us."  
_― **David Richo **

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

When Anna woke up the next morning it was still early enough to join Elsa for breakfast. It didn't happen often, but today, once the weak sunlight of a winter morning started to brighten her room and wake her from her uneasy doze, Anna was too troubled to fall back asleep.

Elsa seemed surprised to see her, but smiled and said, "Good morning, honey," in a warm voice. Anna's mumbled response stung Elsa a little, but she shrugged it off as fatigue and tried to stay cheerful. The conversation remained sparse and stilted over the meal. Anna seemed to find some fascination in her bowl of groats and honey and Elsa was too wary of angering her again to push too hard.

As they were finishing, Elsa asked, "What are your plans for today, Anna? I'd like to have a tutoring session with you this afternoon."

"I was going to go find Kristoff and maybe wander around town a little today; I'll be back after lunch for our lesson. Is that okay with you?" Anna winced; she hadn't meant her voice to sound so … snippy. _"Come on, Anna, you were going to apologize. What are you waiting for?"_

Elsa tried not to show her dismay at Anna's tone and facial expression. "Yes. Yes, that's fine. Please tell Kristoff I said hello." She rose and left the room, moving with her usual elegant dignity.

Anna watched her go and almost called out something to reassure Elsa that she wasn't still angry with her. She hesitated too long; Elsa was gone. _"Nice going, Anna. Weren't you supposed to apologize for being such a blockhead last night? You can't do anything right."_

Anna slurped the last of her coffee, grabbed her cloak from the chair next to her and left to find Kristoff.

As she exited the castle door, two Queen's Own Guardsmen saluted and followed her. She growled to herself. Since the Weselton attack, Elsa had increased security on both of them. Anna couldn't even order the men to stay behind.

As she walked into town she remembered how Elsa had cut that option right out of Anna's bag of tricks.

It was the first morning Elsa had been allowed by the doctor to resume light duties. She had summoned Captain Gunnarsson and scheduled an assembly of the entire Queen's Own Guard, Anna and Kristoff in the Throne Room. The Admiral had joined them as well.

With Anna and Kristoff at her side and the men standing at attention in ranks before her throne, Elsa addressed them. The ranks were depleted; Eric and the Admiral hadn't yet assigned replacements for those Queen's Own that had died to protect Elsa from the Weselton men in the courtyard.

"Gentlemen, I must thank you again for your loyalty and devotion to duty in the recent attack. I owe my life to you and your comrades," she said. "The attack did teach us one thing, however high the tuition for the lesson: my sister must be given protection to the same level as I receive."

She continued, "That is why I have called you here today. My sister had correctly taken command of the Marine force she met when she escaped from the castle. If she hadn't, even your courage might not have been enough to save me." Anna blushed, but she still didn't know why Elsa had called this assembly or had her and Kristoff here. "However, in the future, I cannot in good conscience leave decisions about her security in any way ambiguous in their legality."

Elsa went on, "Attention to orders. I, Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, order you with my own voice, and by written decree to be disseminated to the rest of my armed forces, that my sister, Crown Princess Anna of Arendelle, shall never be without at least two bodyguards whenever she leaves the confines of this castle. This order cannot be countermanded by anyone, even Princess Anna, as it comes directly from me and is binding until such time as I may choose to change or cancel it. If, in the sole opinion of Captain Eric Gunnarsson, commanding officer of the Queen's Own Guard, more than two men are appropriate, he shall so order a larger contingent to accompany my sister." She looked at Eric, then turned to the Admiral. "Is this perfectly clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Eric responded. The Admiral nodded. Anna fumed. _"Darn it, Elsa you stinker."_

"Thank you, gentlemen. You are all dismissed."

Eric saluted, then marched his men out of the Throne Room. The Admiral bowed to Elsa, then to Anna, and followed them out. This left Elsa alone with Anna and Kristoff. She sat down rather heavily on her throne. She was by no means completely well yet.

"Elsa, what do you think you're doing? You know I don't like being trailed around by the guard!" Anna started to argue but was silenced by the look on Elsa's face and Kristoff's hand on her arm.

"Anna, I know you think guards will just put a crimp in your fun, but the Duke has now shown the entire world my biggest vulnerability: you!" Elsa's voice trembled. She was clearly struggling to control herself. "I can't let you put yourself at risk any longer. Get used to the guard, they will be discreet, but you will NOT leave this castle unprotected again."

Elsa looked at Kristoff. "Kristoff, I trust you with my sister's life. I'm begging you now, please don't let her do anything so stupid as to try and evade her guards. It's one thing to be fearless; another thing entirely to be foolish."

"I'll try my best, Your Majesty." Kristoff had been given permission to use Elsa's given name months ago, but this seemed like a good time for formality.

Elsa smiled wryly. "That's all I can ask, Kristoff. She's a handful, I know." Elsa held out her arms, "Anna, please, I can't risk you, I can't lose you!"

The pleading in Elsa's voice cut through Anna's annoyance as she realized how distraught Elsa was. She knelt next to her sister and took her hands. "I know, honey. I'm sorry for being so stubborn sometimes. I'll listen to the guards and I won't try to sneak away from them."

That had been almost two weeks ago. At least it was only two guards following her this time. While Anna was acting as Regent, Eric had generally assigned four guards to Anna on those few occasions she left the castle.

This was the first time she just wanted to be alone with Kristoff away from the castle, and the guards did annoy her. How could she have some quality time with her maybe-maybe not-boyfriend with a couple of guards hovering around?

It was a bitter November day, mostly overcast with only some brief glimpses of the sun low in the sky to brighten the landscape. Anna shivered in her woolen cloak; the wind was off the fjord and chilled her even through the layers she wore.

It didn't take long for her to walk to the building that was the new Guild Hall for the Ice Harvesters' Guild. It so happened that Kristoff had talked up the idea of forming a guild with all of the other ice harvesters, and they were organizing it now, since there wasn't a lot of actual harvesting to be done at this time of year. He seemed to be looked at as a leader by the others. Once they got around to the formalities, Anna suspected he would be chosen as the guild master.

"Hi, Kristoff," she greeted him. He looked around from the small group of men he was talking to and grinned at her.

"Hi, Feisty Pants! Just give me a minute, okay?" When she nodded, he turned back and finished what he was doing with the others, then grabbed his coat from a hook on the wall, put it on and said to Anna, "Shall we go get some coffee or hot chocolate?"

"Yeah, let's. I need some coffee, didn't sleep well last night," she told him.

They left the Guild Hall, trailed by the two guards. They stayed a discreet few paces behind Kristoff and Anna as they walked to the town Inn, out of earshot but close enough should anything or anyone threatening appear.

Kristoff was content to enjoy the walk with Anna; he was a man of few words and generally listened to Anna's continuous chatter with warm affection. It took him a few moments to realize that there was no happy chatter today. By the time they had settled in to a table at the inn and gotten their coffee, he was worried that Anna still hadn't said anything. It was extremely rare that Kristoff had to be the one to start a conversation.

"Hey, Feisty Pants, why the long face? Something wrong at the castle?"

Anna grimaced and mumbled, "It's Elsa. She's being a … a Queen."

Kristoff said, "Uh, isn't that what she's supposed to be?"

"Not with me!" Anna retorted. She waved at a server and asked for more coffee. Kristoff waited until they were alone again before saying anything.

"What exactly brought this on?" he asked.

Anna scowled at her coffee cup for a moment and muttered, "She should be the one getting married, it's her job."

The non-sequitur puzzled Kristoff. He waited patiently for Anna to go on, making a small encouraging noise.

After taking a gulp of coffee, she glared at him and said, "She asked me if we were going to get married."

"Wait, what?!"

"Well, not exactly like that. She just asked me if we had discussed courtship and everything and I told her it was none of her business and she said it **was** her business and then she went on and on about how the kingdom needs an heir, **another** heir because we already have me as the heir, and she … "

Kristoff reached out to touch her hand, "Hey, slow down. Start from the beginning, will you? You lost me at 'get married'."

Anna looked sheepish and said, "Actually she said 'courtship', not marriage. She wanted to know if you and I had talked about it."

Kristoff broke out in a cold sweat and tried hard not to look too upset. He didn't want Anna to misinterpret his reaction. He was pretty sure he loved Anna, and that she felt the same way about him, but he was insecure about that. Every time he tried to think about it too hard, a little voice in his head started yammering, _"You're just a commoner; what the hell are you thinking? A Princess? Like that will ever happen!"_

"Anna," he said slowly, "I'm just a com ..."

"And no one cares about that. Well, no one who counts, anyway!" Anna stopped him.

He looked askance at her, "Who counts in this?"

"You. Me. Elsa. That's it, those are the only people who count. And since she's the Queen and she's in favor of it, nobody else gets a vote. Except you and me. So there. The only question is, are you and me in favor of it?" Anna deflated a little as she looked at him uncertainly at this last.

"What would your father say if you married a commoner?" Kristoff just couldn't let it go.

"Since he's dead, we'll never have to find out. Kristoff, **Elsa** is okay with this; she likes you. I think she's hoping that you come to her soon and formally ask her for permission to court me. That's like, a trial period, it's not an engagement or a commitment to get married." Anna looked away and mumbled, "I'm a little nervous, too. You're not Hans, I know that, but … "

The silence stretched out until the server came to refill their cups. It gave Kristoff time to get his muddled thoughts in order and gather his courage. Once they were alone again, Kristoff reached over to take Anna's hand, looked into her eyes and said, "Feisty Pants, would you allow me to court you?"

Her smile lit up the room. "Yes! And I will be right there with you when you ask Elsa!"

He felt like leaping for joy and cowering under the table at the same time and said, "Good. That way, when she makes me into an icy statue for the garden pigeons to roost on, you can tell Ma and GrandPabbie what happened to me ..."

"Silly! She won't do that, did you miss the part where I said she likes you? When do you want to ask her?"

"How soon can she fit us into her busy schedule? She's got a kingdom to run, after all," he seemed to remember some quote about _'twere best it were done quickly'_ from one of the plays Anna had read to him. If he waited too long he was afraid he would lose the courage to ask Elsa's permission.

"For her beloved little sister, I'm sure she can squeeze us in pretty soon. Can you do dinner tomorrow? I'll ask her tonight if that works, be sure to wear your best clothes and DO NOT pick your nose!"

"Sheesh, it was just the one time, you'll never let me live that down, will you?" He put his blushing face in his hands.

Anna laughed as she hugged him, "Never!"

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Kristoff tugged at his too-tight collar. This shirt had never before seemed so constricting as to be choking him. He wondered what a high-collared shirt with a cravat would do to him; probably make him faint from lack of oxygen. He sent thanks to what gods there may be that he could wear his open-collar shirt and vest for this dinner, even though it felt like it had shrunk three sizes suddenly.

Dinner was almost over. Elsa was a gracious hostess and tried to put Kristoff at ease; she could tell he was nervous about something and the silly grin Anna had been wearing for the last day and a half gave her a clue about what. She would make it as easy for him as she could.

Once the footmen had served dessert and coffee, Elsa had dismissed them with instructions to leave the carafe on the table. They were alone. Kristoff tried to suppress the buzzing in his head and breathe. He realized that it was dead silent in the room as Anna and Elsa sipped at their coffee and looked at him expectantly.

He reached for his water glass to wet his throat in preparation for asking Elsa for permission to court Anna … and promptly spit the entire contents at Elsa when it went down the wrong pipe. He coughed and choked while Anna pounded on his back and Elsa tried to suppress her giggles while dabbing at herself with her napkin. He finally managed to clear the choking sensation and almost slumped under the table in embarrassment as he realized that he had just spit up all over the reigning Queen of Arendelle. He'd be lucky if all she did was turn him into a garden statue!

"Oh my god, Your Majesty, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to ..." he sputtered, bracing for the icy blast he was sure would be sent his way.

"Kristoff, my name is Elsa, and you know it! You don't need to apologize, I'm not angry. If there's anyone who would understand what sort of calamity being nervous can cause, it would be me." Elsa smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

He struggled to compose himself, took a deep breath then sat up straight and said, "Your Majesty, I would seek your permission to court your sister, Princess Anna." He held his breath, praying he had memorized the correct wording.

With an affectionate smile Elsa nodded at him and said, "You have my permission to court my sister, Master Bjorgman." Anna squealed and clapped her hands.

"That's it? That's all it took? Uh, I mean, thank you, Your Majesty, for granting me this boon." Kristoff looked disoriented, as though he had stumbled over a step that wasn't there.

"Kristoff, I appreciate your good manners, but can we go back to 'Elsa' now?" the Queen chuckled as he blushed and nodded. Anna reached to take his hand under the table and his face turned a deeper shade of pink.

Elsa took a last sip of her coffee, then stood and said, "I have some paperwork to finish in my study this evening, so I'm afraid I won't be able to join you in the library after dinner." She winked at Anna and left.

"THAT happened … " Kristoff mumbled, still reeling.

Anna leaned over and pecked him on the cheek, "Yes, and now it's official; you are courting me! And she even gave us permission to canoodle!"

"Huh? What's canoodling?" Kristoff asked.

"Let's go to the library and I'll show you!" smirked Anna. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the dining room.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa **always** had reports to review and dispatches to sign, so she wasn't fibbing when she excused herself from the usual after-dinner gathering in the library. She wanted Anna and Kristoff to have some privacy to explore the new boundaries that courtship brought to their relationship. Elsa trusted her sister's discretion, and she also trusted that Kristoff knew what would happen to him if he let Anna forget that discretion. Becoming a garden statue was the least she would do to him. Elsa always had a backup plan.

She stopped abruptly as she caught herself humming a lighthearted tune as she read. She hadn't done that in a long time. Examining her feelings as she tried to understand her oddly cheerful mood, she concluded that Kristoff's request for permission to court Anna and the radiant joy on her sister's face had managed to break through the miasma of despair that seemed to cling to Elsa these days. Leaning back in her chair, she focused her gaze out the window and indulged herself in melancholy introspection.

"_Elsa, you haven't been yourself since that attack,"_ she chided herself.

Although in truth, sometimes she wasn't sure just who 'herself' was. The Weselton attack had only been three months after her secret had been revealed and she had reconciled with Anna. That wasn't nearly enough time to fully heal up after the thirteen years of hiding her guilt and shame and staying a recluse to protect her sister and her kingdom, not to mention trying to make amends for the damage the three days of winter had caused.

The ordeal of Anna's kidnapping, her own surrender into captivity to give her sister a chance to escape, and the life-or-death battle had traumatized Elsa again, creating a new layer of raw wounds before the old scars had fully healed. She had just begun to settle in to her new/old role of sister, and certainly her role as queen had acquired more dimensions than she had planned and trained for. Not only did she have to reconnect with the people of Arendelle, her diplomatic problems had mushroomed into something the sleepy kingdom had never dealt with in living memory.

Now everything was different again. The panic attacks and nightmares were just the surface symptoms of a deeper malaise that had Elsa in its grip.

She had been afraid in the years before her coronation; afraid of her own powers, afraid of hurting people, afraid of failing her father's expectations. Her deepest fear, of course, was of hurting Anna again. That had powered the entire howling storm that was the climax to the Great Winter. When Hans had told her Anna hadn't returned from the North Mountain, Elsa KNEW, even if she couldn't admit it to herself, that her magic had struck Anna again. The lie that Anna was dead had finally pushed Elsa into wishing for death for herself; she had heard Hans draw his sword, knew exactly what he was going to do to her, and she had welcomed the release and blessed oblivion he would give her.

But **this** fear, this was different. For the first time in her life she had been assaulted and stabbed, the sheer physicality of it completely strange and terrifying to her. Anna had grown up skinning her knees, falling out of trees, riding bicycles down the staircases and crashing into suits of armor. Elsa had experienced none of that. She had been wrapped in cotton wool. She had never even been bruised. For ten years, she had never been touched by another human being, much less abused and beaten.

Her physical wounds had healed, but the psychic trauma had not. It worried her; Anna was right that a vengeful Elsa prepared to descend on Weselton like some berserk Angel of Death was out of character. Something was driving her down a path she had never traveled before. Where was that push coming from? Elsa didn't much like what she was seeing in herself, now that she was taking some time to poke into the state of her own soul. Had this darkness always been there inside her, was there indeed a monster hiding within, chafing to escape the bonds of her self-control?

And why had she taken to wearing gloves again? Maybe … maybe because she now shied away from contact with anyone that wasn't Anna. Again. Maybe the gloves were a psychic shield that she imagined would keep her from being hurt again. For once the gloves weren't to protect the people around her, they were to protect **her**. This morning when she had seen them, when she had decided to put them on, they had felt odd, but they had also felt safe ... they had made her feel safer, at least a little bit.

As she sat there at her desk, she held up her hands to look at them; they were bare of the gloves. They were also shaking, shaking badly. She grasped the one with the other and clasped them both to her breast. _"No, no, no. Don't feel, don't FEEL."_

But that worked no better than it had on the North Mountain. At least her ice didn't grow to coat the walls of her study with angry red spikes this time.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Kristoff sat on the couch facing the fireplace in a daze of disbelief. He couldn't believe that he had actually, finally, really truly worked up the courage to ask Elsa's permission to court Anna. He glanced down at Anna, who was curled up next to him, her legs drawn up next to her on the couch, leaning into him while holding his hand.

A silly smile broke out on his face and he nudged her a tiny bit and said, "Hey, Feisty Pants, that HAPPENED!" The rush he felt easily matched that of falling off a two hundred foot cliff while being pursued by an angry snowlem.

A giggle, and Anna snuggled deeper into his side and squeezed his hand. "See? I told you she liked you. Now it's official."

"Yeah, about that … " Kristoff's voice was hesitant.

He hated feeling out of control of a situation, which described how he felt most of the time when he was with Anna. Of course, that didn't explain why from the very first day he had met her his state of mind could more accurately be described as 'exhilarated' rather than 'out of control'. She was a whirlwind; of action, of emotion, of determination. All he could do was tag along and catch her when she fell off the mountain. He would never let her fall. He would throw himself off the highest cliff to catch her if it meant she would be safe.

That didn't mean that he didn't get nervous. Falling off a mountain was easy compared to inching across the shifting ice that was life in a royal court. He had grasped a few points of protocol, it was like learning a new language or a new skill. But his understanding was still tentative, with a large number of missing pieces to put into the picture he was trying to form about what proper behavior looked like.

"What exactly are we supposed to do while courting?" he asked Anna. Kristoff had learned as a young apprentice on the ice that asking was far better than guessing.

He had almost drowned one spring when he tried to cut ice that was too weak to support his 11-year old weight. The older harvesters pulled him out, dried him off and warmed him up, then patiently explained the indicators that said, "DANGER! Thin ice!" to someone alert to the perils and pitfalls of ice.

Lars, one of the older men, sat him down that night after supper and told him, "Kristoff, it's not what you don't know that will kill you so much as what you think you know that's wrong."

"Huh?"

"You thought you knew that ice was thick enough for you to walk on. You were wrong, so you walked out there and broke through. If you'd been alone, you'd be dead. If you weren't sure of the ice, if you didn't **know** how thick it was, you'd have been more careful. See?"

"I … guess so," little Kristoff's voice was hesitant. His teeth still chattered a little and he pulled the fur wrap tighter around him and leaned closer to the fire.

"Never ever be afraid to ask about something you're not sure of. Being a little embarrassed is a lot better than being dead." Lars threw another log on the fire and poured Kristoff more coffee to warm him up.

If he made a mistake in court etiquette, he wouldn't die, the backstabbing among the upper classes was metaphorical not literal. But it would hurt Anna and reflect badly on her and Elsa. He didn't ever want to be a cause of any pain to either one of them. Anna was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and Elsa would do anything to make her sister happy, even put up with a scruffy reindeer herder/ice cutter. He owed her everything he had now.

"What exactly does this 'courting' thing mean?" He rubbed her hand gently and felt the warmth of her body as she wriggled more comfortably into his arms. He felt his own heat rising and thought, _"Ice statue, ice statue, ice statue ..." _ He would NOT fail Elsa's trust in him.

"Well, it means that we are getting to know each other better so we can decide if we want to maybe get married. So we can do things together, go to dinners, balls, public events, ship launchings, celebrations and just about anything in the kingdom that needs the presence of royalty, as in, me or Elsa. She normally prefers to let me do all that kind of stuff, so we'll be spending a lot of time together."

"Uh, are there any rules I need to know about?"

"Yes, we can never be alone together because that would cause a scandal, but that's not a problem, since in public we are obviously not alone plus now I have the guards trailing after me, and here in the castle we're certainly never alone because if nothing else my sister will be chaperoning us, like when we're in here after dinner." Anna finally ran down and Kristoff had a chance to think over what she had said.

"Anna?"

"Yes, Kristoff?"

"Elsa's not here."

A giggle. "Nope."

"So … who's chaperoning us?"

"Elsa."

"Ah … ?"

"Because no one would ever question that the Queen would allow her beloved baby sister to be unchaperoned."

"Ooookay … "

"Kristoff, don't over-analyze it. Just kiss me."

So he did. If this was canoodling, he could get used to it pretty quick.


	5. Powderkeg, Meet Match Match, Powderkeg

**Chapter 5 – Powderkeg, Meet Match; Match, Powderkeg**

"_When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves: one for your enemy, and one for yourself."  
__**― Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes **_

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, welcome to Admiralty House." The Admiral and his staff bowed as Anna and Elsa entered the conference room. They would be reviewing the plans for the punitive expedition to Weselton today. Naismith and his staff had been very busy since the Council meeting last week.

Elsa and Anna took their places at the long conference table, then the staff settled into their chairs. Anna looked around with interest; she had never had a reason to come here before. The walls were covered with maps of Arendelle, the surrounding kingdoms and the rest of Northern Europe. An easel with a large board covered with a cloth stood at the other end of the table. Eric Gunnarsson took his place at attention next to the door through which they had entered. Other guardsmen remained in the hallway.

"Thank you, Admiral," Elsa said, nodding at him, giving him permission to begin.

He gestured to one of the Navy captains at the table, who stood and removed the cloth from the board on the easel, revealing a map of the areas surrounding Weselton.

"Your Majesty, sailing time to Weselton is approximately one week, depending on the winds. Upon arrival … "

Anna tried to pay attention, but it was rather dry and uninteresting except for the part that her sister would be sailing with the fleet to destroy the waterfront and port of Weselton, which would demonstrate to the Duke that attacking Arendelle had been a really bad idea.

"_Elsa, I can't believe you are that vindictive. __ And__ I know you said this isn't dangerous, but even the Snow Queen isn't immune to a stray cannonball. Or even a musket ball, for that matter__,__" _Anna worried silently.

As the various officers presented the plan of attack, it became obvious to Elsa that they were being somewhat vague about what her role would be. She finally asked the question, "Admiral, why do you have so little detail about exactly what you wish **me** to accomplish in this invasion?"

There was a sudden silence in the room, and if Anna had to describe it, the word 'nervous' seemed the best fit. After clearing his throat, the Admiral said, "Your Majesty, there are two reasons for that. The first reason is that we would prefer that you not be put at risk any more than necessary."

"_Hallelujah!"_ thought Anna. **She** could certainly agree with that approach. Maybe Elsa wouldn't put herself in peril again after all.

Elsa seemed offended, however, and snapped, "Don't you think that I am capable of being useful, Admiral? Do you question my courage after all I've done?"

Naismith was caught off guard by her intensity. He tried to reassure her, "Not at all, Your Majesty. And that leads me to explain the second reason for our ill-defined tactics for this assault ..."

The Queen did not let him finish; she leaned forward and interrupted him, "Please do enlighten me, Admiral. I would have thought that a week was long enough to solidify a battle plan."

Anna was perplexed at her sister's attitude. Elsa normally allowed her subordinates to do their jobs without interference. This belligerent tone was out of character and the consternation it created in the room was palpable. These were brave men, men tested in battle. But Elsa in full-on Snow Queen mode could unman Thor himself.

"_Good thing I'm not a man,"_ Anna muttered, then raised her hand and blurted out, "Admiral, would you please explain what you mean for my benefit; I'm not as familiar with military operations as Els … Her Majesty is." She hoped to deflect Elsa's anger long enough for her to regain her normal equanimity.

Naismith seemed grateful for the distraction; he admitted, "Your Majesty, the problem is that we are rather unfamiliar with the capabilities and limits of your magical power. Your battle alongside your guards was impressive and allowed that small group to defeat a much larger force. But what we are attempting to do in Weselton is on a larger scale, a much larger scale."

The Queen remained skeptical and tight-lipped, but she nodded at him to continue.

"If I may draw an analogy: what you accomplished in the courtyard is what we would describe as a small-unit skirmish, primarily using small arms such as muskets and pistols. The Weselton attack is more like a full-scale combined arms battle using artillery and naval gunnery. We know how your magic works as a musket; we don't know how it works as a cannon."

Elsa fell into a thoughtful expression. He was right, he didn't know, none of them did. Furthermore, SHE didn't know how her magic worked on a large scale. Raising the Ice Palace was a blur of unfettered emotion at finally throwing off the inhibitions of thirteen years of concealment. The fight in the Ice Palace was the same as her fighting in the courtyard. The gigantic howling storm that occurred when she escaped the dungeon wasn't under her control at all; it was driven by her fear and worry for Anna's fate and was totally chaotic. She hadn't tried to recreate **that** effect on a controlled basis since the Thaw. She wasn't sure that she could. Or wanted to.

A flush appeared on her cheeks as she recognized that she had been out of line. In her most neutral tone of voice she asked, "You're right, Admiral. I confess that I had not considered that. How should we remedy our lack of knowledge?"

An officer that she recognized as Captain Wigdahl raised his hand and offered, "If I may, Your Majesty? Your magic is a new weapon. I think to define the limits of your magic we need to do some field exercises, much as we do with all new weapons."

His words startled Elsa into exclaiming, "Field exercises? You mean, we go out and I practice using it with the ships and men we would take to Weselton?"

"Exactly so, Your Majesty. Not the entire force, but if we took one or two ships and perhaps a target hulk along, and sailed into one of the smaller fjords not far from here, we could work out some of the tactics we will use against the Weselton navy and the harbor. I think you have enough experience with individual combat for **that** not to be an issue," Captain Wigdahl concluded. "One thing in particular we need to establish: how physically taxing is your magic when you use it?"

She sat back in her chair, confusion warring with embarrassment as she absorbed what he had said. She had been drained to the point of collapse after the battle in the courtyard, but that had involved days of little sleep, extreme physical activity and bloody wounds. Without that physical activity and blood loss, how long could she use her power? It would be right disconcerting for her to faint at a critical moment, wouldn't it now? Not conducive to the reputation of an all-powerful Snow Queen at all.

Elsa's eyes flicked sideways at Anna. She had that too-familiar 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' look of total innocence on her face, and a rush of gratitude flooded through Elsa. Her sister had defused what could have been an unseemly explosion of inappropriate emotion on Elsa's part. She reached for Anna's hand under the table and squeezed it gently, hoping her message was clear. An answering squeeze reassured her that Anna understood.

"Admiral Naismith, I must apologize for my misunderstanding. As usual, you and your staff only had my best interests at heart, and the best interests of Arendelle. My ill-mannered response was unbecoming. I can only ask your forbearance and understanding. Stress is no excuse for rudeness, but it is the only one I can offer," Elsa said, chagrined.

"No apologies are necessary, Your Majesty. A thick skin is a prerequisite for command of a warship; we've found the bullets bounce off better that way." His little joke lightened the mood considerably. "May I assume that you are willing to undertake the war games we have proposed?" Naismith made a note to think of some way to let the Princess know how much he appreciated her deft handling of the situation.

"Yes, I am willing. And I will be open to any and all suggestions concerning effective use of my magic. When would you like to undertake this exercise?"

Naismith gestured at another one of the men seated at the table, "Commander Hoyland, what is the weather forecast?"

Hoyland hesitated and responded, "You know our forecasts are only accurate about 20% of the time, but the barometer is indicating rising air pressure, which generally means no storms, at least."

The Admiral nodded, then turned to Elsa and suggested, "Your Majesty, we should take advantage of this and schedule the exercise as quickly as possible. Could you be available for tomorrow and the day after? That should be sufficient time for us to answer the key questions, at least."

Elsa replied, "Yes, I can clear my schedule. What time do we sail?"

"Morning ebb tide will be around 7 a.m., Your Majesty. If you could be at the dock by 6?" asked Naismith.

"That's fine, Admiral. Consider it done."

Once this was settled, the last topic to be discussed was the timing of the attack. It would be December in a few days, a month when the weather was the most unpredictable. If they sailed within the week, **and** all went well, the fleet could be back in Arendelle by Yul. But the Admiral suggested that there was no need to move so precipitously; the Duke would not be able to materially improve his forces or his defenses during the winter months. And delaying the attack would create doubt and uncertainty in the Duke's mind, with an added layer of fearful anticipation.

An hour later, all the details had been laid out, with an agreement that the fleet would sail to Weselton sometime in late January or early February. They also set a schedule for updates every two weeks or so, as more information came in from Weselton. Elsa thanked them all for their diligence and attention to duty and the Admiral dismissed the staff, all except Nordholm. When the room was empty except for the five of them, he asked Elsa, "Your Majesty, is there anything else you believe we need to discuss?"

Elsa had remained rather sternly calm throughout the discussion once they had settled the issue of the war games, now she rubbed her temples with her gloved hands.

"I only suggest that we try to minimize loss of life when we destroy the docks and warehouse district, Admiral. I realize that … collateral damage … is unavoidable, but we can try to mitigate it as best we can. I intend for the Duke to pay a very high price for the harm he has done to me … to Arendelle, but his people had no complicity in his evil. If we can do this without killing anyone, we should try to do that."

He bowed as he murmured, "As you say, Your Majesty."

He glanced at Nordholm, then turned back to Elsa and cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, there is one last thing that you need to hear. Colonel Nordholm has been leading the effort to organize a group of intelligence gatherers that would be responsible for sniffing out plots like the one we just beat off before we are caught by surprise."

Elsa nodded. The Admiral had discussed this with Anna right after the attack. Anna had relayed the information to Elsa when reviewing everything that was going on while Elsa was recovering. Once she returned to her duties, Elsa had approved his moving forward with the effort. Arendelle could not afford another surprise attack that would catch them totally unawares.

Colonel Nordholm passed a sheet of paper to Elsa and Anna. "Your Majesty, immediately after the attack was over, we sought out people in the kingdom that had personal knowledge of Weselton. It so happens that over the years, Arendelle has become a refuge of sorts for those who chafe under the rule of the Duke. We were able to find a select few who were willing to return to Weselton under new identities and stir around to scout out the situation."

Anna was fascinated. Spying and undercover activities had always excited her as she read history books and novels of political intrigue. She paid close attention to the Colonel as he continued.

"These agents have sent back some preliminary reports, and it was unsurprising to hear that the Duke has painted a picture of you to his populace as a witch and a sorceress, a deadly threat to the people of Weselton. That started right after you kicked him out of Arendelle and cut off trade, and is perfectly in character for him. But there was something unexpected discovered by our agents as well. There apparently is great unrest in Weselton against the Duke's rule."

"Unrest, Colonel?" asked Elsa.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Duke's greed has created great riches, but those riches are reserved for him and a few toadies. The rest of the population lives in poverty and want. The situation has resulted in an active resistance movement seeking to depose the Duke."

He gestured to the papers he had given to Elsa and Anna. "That report lays out what details our people have been able to find out so far. It seems that the resistance has a charismatic leader who uses the name 'Rödräv'. The name is all we have. There apparently is no description of this man. He has been stirring up trouble for the Duke for a while, and is somewhat of a folk hero to their common people."

"'Rödräv'? That means 'Red Fox'. Interesting _nom de guerre_. What could be the meaning of that name, do you think?" Elsa wondered.

Nordholm shrugged, "Who can say, Your Majesty? The red fox is a known predator of weasels, perhaps it is a barb aimed at the Duke. He is known as _'The Little Weasel'_ after all." Anna giggled at this suggestion, then subsided at a disapproving glance from Elsa.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence, then Elsa asked, "What will you be doing with this information, Colonel?"

The Admiral answered for him, "Our intentions are to make contact, if possible, with this Rödräv, and offer him our help. One more arrow in our quiver to repay the Duke for his treachery."

Anna had been thinking over this information and raised her hand shyly. Elsa glanced at her and said, "Anna, Please, what do you think?" Elsa hoped her sister could hear the pride in her voice. Her capable handling of the kingdom as regent more than entitled her to speak in this council.

"Well, it occurs to me that the two things are related. His making you into a deadly menace and this resistance movement," Anna said slowly. "If there is an external threat to the people of the duchy, they'll be more likely to keep him in power to protect them. So, those who want to overthrow him won't have as much support as they would otherwise."

Elsa looked thoughtful, then glanced at Nordholm and Naismith. "That … makes sense, in some twisted, weaselly way. What do you gentlemen think?"

Nordholm answered, "Your Majesty, I think that Princess Anna may have the right of it. With our next set of dispatches to Weselton, I will ask that our agents there explore this as best they can."

"Very well, Admiral. Is that all, then? I find myself … fatigued, it has been a long week and I believe I may have overestimated my progress in healing," Elsa said. Her fatigue was more mental than physical, but it sapped her just the same. And if she were to be totally honest with herself, she had been so eager to get back to work that she **had** probably overdone it. If she was busy, there was no time to brood, no time to fall into melancholy reflection, and she slept deeply and dreamlessly from exhaustion. But now was not the time to continue overworking herself. She suspected the next two days would test her stamina to the limits, and a good night's sleep was critical preparation.

"That is all for now, Your Majesty. We will update you with more data as we receive it. One thing we have set up is a system of getting messages out of Weselton by means of fishing vessals that meet our fishermen and pass along information. Given the travel time involved, our two week schedule of updates should be adequate. I will, of course, come to you immediately if something urgent appears in the dispatches."

At that, Elsa rose to leave and Anna followed her as the Admiral and the Colonel bowed to them. Their carriage was waiting for them, with mounted Queen's Own to accompany them back to the castle. It was a quiet ride. Elsa was clearly not in the mood for talk, and Anna was subdued again by the gravity of the day's discussions.

It was time for a late lunch when they got back to the castle, but Anna's appetite was gone. She was still unsettled by the thought that her sister was going to use her magic to actively destroy something. Or someone. Elsa wouldn't actually KILL the Duke, would she? At least there would be some months before they sailed off to Weselton. Maybe … maybe there was time enough that she could persuade Elsa to take a different path.

"Elsa, I'm not really hungry, so I'm going to skip lunch if it's okay with you," she said as they walked into the castle.

"As you wish, Anna. Will you be at dinner?" Elsa seemed distracted, not really listening to Anna.

"Probably," Anna looked at her sister like she was some stranger in a masquerade costume. "Elsa, this isn't you. What's going on? First the willingness to go tear up Weaseltown, then the rudeness dealing with the staff, something's not right with you."

Elsa kept walking, saying nothing, until Anna grabbed her hand and said, "Elsa!" The soft glove felt almost like her sister's skin. Almost.

Elsa spun away and clasped her hand to her breast, a mirror of her actions at her Coronation. The glove had stayed on her hand this time, however, and her eyes were focused somewhere else, somewhere not on Anna. She backed up against the wall, panting, groping for a door handle that wasn't there.

"_Damn it, I did it again,"_ Anna groaned to herself. She backed away a step, recognizing that her sister was in the throes of a flashback to coronation night.

"Elsa, I'm sorry, it's okay, you're okay," Anna spoke in a soft, warm, non-threatening voice. Elsa wasn't hearing her yet. "Elsa, you're safe, take a deep breath, just try to breathe deeply, okay?" Anna was careful not to approach her sister. Not yet, not until she came back from wherever she was in her head. All she had was her voice to reach out to Elsa.

A few minutes of reassurance and coaxing later, Elsa looked around as though puzzled, then focused on Anna and said, "Anna? I … I'm sorry, I ..." She closed her eyes and took a long shuddering breath, then stood straight and saw that they were in a hallway, not a ballroom full of people staring at her in shock.

Anna reached out tentatively, letting Elsa see her approaching, alert for any hint of her pulling away. She closed the gap and gently patted her sister on her shoulder, saying, "You're okay, you're safe, we're here getting ready for lunch. Are you hungry? Let's get something to eat, shall we?"

Elsa nodded, taking Anna's hand in her own. But then after a few steps she stopped, and shook her head. "I thought you weren't hungry?"

"I'm getting hungrier now. You know me!" Anna flung her hand wide in an airy wave that almost knocked a bust of some Viking ancestor off its pedestal.

Elsa gave her a skeptical look.

"Hey, I'm allowed to change my mind if I want." Anna pouted as she grabbed Elsa's hand again.

They continued to walk toward the dining room. Anna handed her cloak to a footman, then got Elsa settled at the table. "I'll be right back, okay? Have some tea."

A shaky nod, then Elsa took off her gloves and reached for her teacup, her trembling hand causing it to rattle against the saucer. Anna watched until she had taken a sip, then went off to find Gerda to ask her to begin serving lunch.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Anna insisted on spending the night with Elsa.

"You need to get up early and I'm going to make sure you get a good night's sleep, Elsa, so no arguments!"

They took turns brushing each others hair, crawled into bed and giggled over Olaf and Sven antics, then finally let the conversation taper into drowsy mumbles and yawns.

Regular breathing and soft snores told Elsa that her sister was finally asleep. Elsa had feigned sleepiness to lull Anna into drifting off, but sleep refused to come to her tonight, even though she knew she had to be at the docks so very early. Her mind insisted on reliving the events of the meeting, anticipating the field exercises planned for tomorrow. And despite her good intentions she found she was still plagued by uneasy reflections. She couldn't seem to break the cycle and relax.

Her behavior at the meeting had been testy and inappropriate. Elsa's management style was to choose the most competent advisers she could find and let them advise. She would normally tease out clarity and critical details when she reviewed their recommendations, but today she had bristled and overreacted to a perfectly innocent remark by the Admiral. What was wrong with her?

Anna shifted in her arms and poked an elbow into her ribs, producing a brief twinge of pain and a muffled, "Oof!" from Elsa. She held perfectly still to see if Anna would stir, but she was just settling into a more comfortable position and resumed her muted snoring without becoming aware that Elsa was still awake.

The thought of using her magic tomorrow was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. Since the night she had raised her Ice Palace with such manic giddiness, she had not used her powers to create anything more impressive than a skating rink. Her magic was under control; even under extreme stress during the Weselton attack only small patches of ice had appeared without her willing them into being. She had nothing to worry about tomorrow, nothing at all.

"Elsa!" Anna sat bolt upright and thrashed around until she realized where she was. "Oh, sorry. Just a bad dream, the one where I can't find you and keep running through the castle."

It was the perfect excuse for Elsa to tug on her sister's arm and say, "I know that one, but I'm here, it's okay. Come on, let me hold you so I can hear your heartbeat, hmm? That way we'll both be sure where we are."

Anna nodded and lay back down, pulling Elsa to nestle her head in the crook of her neck. "You'll never leave me again, promise?"

"I promise, Anna. Now, sleep. I need to get up early, even if you don't."

The lullaby of her sister's heart finally calmed Elsa enough to let her doze off. Tomorrow would be a long day.


	6. Do the Magic!

**Chapter 6 – Do the Magic!**

"_The first way to lose a state is to neglect the art of war; the first way to gain a state is to be skilled in the art of war." _**― Niccolò Machiavelli, _The Prince _**

"_All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride." _**  
― Sophocles, _Antigone _**

***** November 26, 1840 – Aboard Her Majesty's Ship _King Agdar_ *****

Elsa stood on the quarterdeck of the _King Agdar,_ flagship of her Navy. It was a tradition in Arendelle that the flagship be named after the most recently deceased monarch. The way Elsa's stomach felt this morning, she thought they'd be renaming it the _Queen Elsa_ before the day was over. The waters were choppy, swirling winds driving the waves in odd directions from one moment to the next, the ship corkscrewing wildly. When she had been on her tour of the kingdom in October, the weather was still rather mild, the seas relatively smooth, or at least regular. Then, her stomach had quickly adapted to the rhythm as the ship rose and fell. This was totally different, and her sea legs were slower to come.

Her iron self-control was the only thing keeping her from leaning over the ship's railing she was grasping with white-knuckled fingers and providing nourishment for the cod and herring. Not that there was anything for her to spew into the sea, she had prudently skipped breakfast. It didn't seem to be helping.

"We will be at our destination in less than half an hour, Your Majesty," Captain Wigdahl informed her. She nodded curtly, not being sure if her control extended to actually speaking. He saluted, recognizing the signs of sea sickness and knowing only time would cure it.

Wigdahl crossed over to the other rail where Admiral Naismith, Colonel Nordholm and a few others stood.

"I suspect that it would be prudent for us to start our exercise on shore, Lars," Naismith said to Nordholm. "It will allow Her Majesty to recover a bit. The waters in a protected fjord will be smoother than these, and we can have hot tea and soup for a quick lunch, then re-board ship for more tests."

"That will fit nicely with the outline I've made, Admiral. We can anchor the target hulk at some distance from the shore and do some range checks to start. Then work our way up to more complex maneuvers."

The sun was just peeking over the horizon. The small fjord where they were going to experiment with Elsa's magic was only about 90 minutes' sail from Arendelle's harbor and had a small stretch of beach where they could set up tents and a camp for the night. Only Elsa and a small party would spend the night on land; the crews of the ships had their own bunks and hammocks and were used to sleeping on board.

Thirty minutes later, Elsa, her guards and the Admiral's staff were on shore. It took a few minutes for the ground to stop swaying, but she soon felt well enough to ask, "What shall we start with, Colonel?"

Nordholm waved out to where a single ship was anchored approximately half a mile away. It was the target hulk, a beat-up old ship used for target practice until it was so full of holes it sank. Once it was anchored, the men rowed away to one of the other frigates, which then moved far enough away to be out of danger of getting iced.

"Range practice, first, Your Majesty. I would like you to 'shoot' at that ship with your magic. If you could, please be cognizant of how you feel as you do so. When you've finished, we will discuss fatigue, how difficult you found it and so on."

"Very well. If you gentlemen would be so kind as to stand behind me?" Elsa walked a few paces toward the waterline of the beach, breathing deeply and centering herself for this effort. She raised her hands and concentrated on the target hulk, then willed her magic to fly.

Bright white bolts of ice shot from her palms and covered the distance to the anchored ship quickly. Nordholm estimated it traveled not quite as fast as a crossbow bolt, if there were a crossbow on this earth that had that kind of range. Her aim wasn't bad, but not precisely accurate. The bowsprit of the target froze over when the ice bolts splashed against it. Coated in thick ice and dripping icicles, the weight pulled the bow of the ship down, almost dipping the bowsprit into the water of the fjord and raising the stern out of the water.

"Humph!" Elsa let out a disgusted snort. "I was aiming for the center." Hearing no comment from her men, she turned and saw they had rather awe-struck expressions on their faces. "What? Am I that bad, Colonel?"

Nordholm gulped and replied, "Ah, not at all Your Majesty. That was amazing, actually. One of our land-based cannon would barely reach that far, and accuracy would be … iffy. A ship-board cannon, with the motion of wind and wave, would be even less effective."

"Oh, well, then … " She felt a little prouder of herself. "Let me try it again. I'll attempt to coat the entire ship this time." She concentrated a little harder, trying for a tighter focus. A gesture and the entire ship was coated in thick ice. "There," a smug tone crept into her voice.

"How do you feel, Your Majesty? Is that physically taxing?" Naismith asked.

Elsa looked thoughtful, "No, not yet at least. It actually is a little … exhilarating. It's wiped away the last of the seasickness as well."

"Excellent. Let us continue then. If you could … "

They spent the rest of the day trying out various attacks on the poor battered target hulk. By sunset, Elsa could raise the entire ship with an iceberg reaching fifty feet in the air, or simply plug the cannon muzzles with ice to disable them. It hadn't taken long for the crews of the two ships anchored in the fjord to line their railings and actually begin to cheer when she made some particularly spectacular ice creation around the ship. She found herself playing to the crowd a bit, adding little showy elements to her efforts.

It was twilight when the Admiral said, "I think we have accomplished quite a bit, Your Majesty. Your control and precision definitely improved over the course of the day. How tired are you?"

"I must admit I am very tired, Admiral. I'm trying to put it in some sort of perspective. Perhaps … as tired as I would be walking all the way to the North Mountain? I really don't have any practical comparison, since my life has been bereft of serious, sustained physical exertion up until now. I feel fatigued, I'm sure I will fall asleep tonight immediately, and deeply. But I am by no means as drained as I was at the end of that battle in the courtyard."

"Good. Considering that you have been using your magic for the better part of five hours, with a short break for lunch, that's heartening. Let us have supper then, let you recover, and try this again from aboard ship tomorrow."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The following morning dawned clear and cold, the sunlight filtering through the sides of her tent waking Elsa from a deep slumber. She had indeed gone to bed immediately after supper and felt completely rested this morning. Better than she had in several weeks, in fact. Exercising her magic had been … fun, recalling the memories of how she had felt while building her Ice Palace.

After a quick breakfast and coffee, the party boarded the ships again and Elsa prepared to see the difference being on a moving platform made to her speed and accuracy. This time the crews of the ships had to actually work the ships, so she didn't have the cheering spectators of yesterday.

Elsa stood in the bow of the ship as it bore down on the target hulk at a brisk clip before the wind. She concentrated and flung her hands out in a sweeping gesture and watched with satisfaction as the hulk was raised into the air on a huge platform of ice. Her ship flew past, then tacked to come around again. It was toward the end of the day, and the Admiral had told her that the target hulk was expendable. This time, she brought her hands together in a clapping motion, and the ship was crushed to splinters between two walls of ice. A final gesture dissolved all the ice and there was nothing but the flotsam of broken wood floating on the fjord.

She turned to see what the Admiral and the others had to say about the results.

"That was magnificent, Your Majesty! Utterly amazing! I would say that we have all the information we need to precisely define what we will accomplish when we sail to Weselton!" Nordholm gushed.

"I'm glad to hear it, Colonel. Shall we then plan on another strategy meeting next week, now that you have the information you need to create the detailed tactics?" Elsa was elated; she felt … powerful, in a way that she had never felt before. She was looking forward to teaching the Duke a lesson.

"Yes, a week should be plenty of time."

"Very well, then. Admiral? Shall we return to Arendelle?" Elsa asked. He nodded, then gestured to Wigdahl.

Wigdahl gave the order, "Set all plain sail, Lieutenant. Signal the _Viking Queen_ that we are setting course for Arendelle immediately."

Elsa felt the deck shift under her feet at the ship heeled over and changed course, then settled into the return heading to Arendelle. She would be glad to be back, but this experience had been … intoxicating. She was light-headed, energized by what she had learned about using her powers. She couldn't wait to share the experience with Anna.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

They had made it back in plenty of time for Elsa to freshen up and change for dinner. Anna couldn't believe how animated and vivid Elsa's description of the past two days was. Who was this chattering person and what had she done with her sister? Elsa was … burbling. A word that Anna hadn't thought would apply to reclusive Elsa in a thousand years, but there it was; she was actually burbling.

It was unfortunate that Anna couldn't bring herself to share Elsa's enthusiasm for the topic of her burbles.

"Anna, it was amazing, it was exhilarating! I haven't felt that … that free since I ran away to the North Mountain!" Elsa couldn't hold back her joy at how she felt using her magic. It took her a few minutes to notice that Anna seemed indifferent or even hostile to what Elsa was describing to her.

"Anna? What's wrong? Aren't you happy I'm using my magic so effectively?"

Her sister was slow to answer. "Elsa, you know I love you and nothing could make me happier than knowing that you are comfortable with your magic and that you accept it as part of you."

"But? Why do I hear a 'but' in there somewhere, Anna?" Elsa was wary and a little disappointed.

"But … your practice with your magic was a dress rehearsal for you sailing off and destroying Weaseltown. Your magic is beautiful, Elsa. Everything you've created with it is beautiful. I just hate the thought of you turning that incredible gift towards destruction, that's all." Anna looked away so she couldn't see the hurt in Elsa's eyes.

If Anna had thrown a bucket of ice water into Elsa's face it would have had less impact, since cold never bothered her.

Stung and offended by Anna's blunt response, Elsa asked, "What do you know about it, Anna? What makes that an opinion that I should care about?"

Elsa wasn't expecting Anna to throw a sheaf of papers across the table at her. "While you were out sailing with the boys, I was getting caught up on our diplomatic dispatches, Elsa! Have you READ these? At least two of these kingdoms are sounding like they expect us to declare war on them if they don't go along with our request to reduce trade with Weaseltown! They're spooked by what the Snow Queen might do to them!"

"That's ridiculous, Anna, and you know it!" Elsa snapped. "We've made it perfectly clear to everyone that Arendelle has no intention of making war on anybody!"

"Really? Then what exactly were you out there practicing today, Elsa? Any sane person would call that war making." Anna snapped right back.

"That's different! Weselton attacked us, they kidnapped you, they tried to loot Arendelle, people would have starved if we hadn't managed to push them back!"

"You know that, and I know that, but the rest of the world doesn't know that, Elsa! After we kicked the weasels back where they came from, the rumors started flying about how the Snow Queen fought off a battalion of troops single handed. How she destroyed a fleet of ships with the flick of her hand."

"Those stories are nonsense, Anna. I barely survived a fight with less than fifty men, I wasn't alone doing it, and I never had anything to do with capturing those ships. That was the Navy doing their jobs." Elsa was defensive.

"Yeah, but the rumors aren't saying that, they're saying you're some unstoppable Ice Witch. And that miserable little dung-pile of a Duke is exaggerating what happened, looking for sympathy by blaming it all on us, and trying to convince other kingdoms that we're a threat to them, too. Not to mention what he's telling his people about the wicked Ice Queen and what she'll do to them when she attacks."

"It's all lies, Anna. No one believes that rubbish."

"Then why are the diplomatic notes we're getting starting to sound so belligerent if no one believes 'that rubbish'? It's like they're warning you off from trying to attack them."

"Those are just misunderstandings. We'll clear them up when we respond to them."

"That's all you can say? How do you think they'll sound after you actually DESTROY Weselton, Elsa? How are you going to explain **that**? Why are you so determined to sail there and do this yourself instead of just sending the Navy to beat him like a dusty rug?"

"Because he HURT me!" Elsa shrieked and slammed her hands onto the table, laying down a thick coating of ice. Anna realized she had pushed Elsa too far. Angry yellow spikes had sprouted like quills on a hedgehog from the walls and ceiling when her sister had screamed.

Anna was horrified. Elsa was panting and grinding the heels of her palms into her forehead, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Because he hurt me," she whispered, and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

"I wish you had been there to see it, Kristoff! She reminded me of that barn cat that was so proud of the dead mouse it brought me that one time. And I love her, but I felt just about as disgusted as I did about that mouse, and that feeling just slipped out and then we spiraled into a shouting match before I knew what happened."

"She's pretty sensitive to your feelings about her, Anna, and that wasn't the most tactful thing you could have done," Kristoff said. "I can understand how she would have taken that so hard." Kristoff had been busy with Ice Guild business and hadn't been around the castle since Elsa got back.

Anna and Kristoff were heading for the library after dinner. A dinner where Elsa had not made an appearance. Elsa had not shared a meal with Anna for three days. After the outburst when Anna had pressed her about the diplomatic notes, she had gone to her room and stayed there.

Kai conveyed a message the next morning telling Anna, "Her Majesty is indisposed and requests that you take over her routine correspondence, Your Highness."

"It was awful, Kristoff. I just sat there like an idiot when she fell apart. She finally stood up so fast she knocked her chair over, waved her hand to melt all the ice and ran out of the room."

"And you haven't talked to her since?" Kristoff couldn't believe it. "Why not?"

They entered the library. The fire was crackling in the fireplace and Kristoff noticed that Anna had apparently requested tea and cookies from Gerda, as a tray was waiting for them. Anna grabbed a couple of cookies and sat on the couch.

"Because I'm an idiot. Did you miss that part?" Anna stuffed a cookie in her mouth and pouted. "Honestly? I … I didn't know what to say. On the one hand, I really, really upset her. On the other hand, I think she's wrong to use her magic this way. So if I apologize, it's like I'm approving of her going off and destroying Weselton." She looked at Kristoff, who was still standing near the door. "Well? Aren't you going to sit down?"

Kristoff hemmed and hawed and finally said, "Uh, what about that whole chaperon thing? Elsa's not here this time, and – "

"Actually, she is," said Elsa. She stood in the doorway, looking hesitant and unsure of herself. "May I join you?"

Anna jumped up from the couch and looked Elsa over carefully. Her sister seemed a bit haggard, with the shadows of dark circles under her eyes and hair that was more unkempt than Elsa would usually allow herself to show in public. She was dressed in her nightgown and dressing robe, even though it was early evening. Apparently she had come directly from her room without bothering to get dressed.

"Uh, El … Elsa, sure you can join us." Anna stammered. "Are you okay? You don't look … uh, well."

Kristoff fidgeted, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, embarrassed to be witnessing something this intimate between the sisters. He decided he needed to leave. He said, "I think I'll be going now," and headed for the door.

As he passed Elsa, she reached out to put a hand on his arm to stop him. "No, Kristoff, please stay."

"But, Your … I mean, Elsa, you and Anna, uh, this is family business, private, I should leave you two alone," he protested. He was uncomfortable being there knowing that the two women had things to discuss that he probably shouldn't hear.

"And if you intend to become part of this family, you should probably see all sides of it. Before it's too late to run away screaming." She had a wan smile as she tugged gently to pull him back toward the couch. He sat next to Anna and Elsa settled in on Anna's right. She reached out and took Anna's hand in her own.

"I owe you an apology for the other night, Anna. You were right and I was wrong." Her voice was so soft Kristoff had to strain to hear it.

"Elsa, I ..." Anna tried to respond but Elsa held up her hand to stop her.

"No, honey, let me finish. You approval means everything to me, and the shock of what you were saying overwhelmed my willingness to listen to you at first. It's hard, I know, but never let me intimidate you into not telling me what I need to hear, even if I don't want to hear it."

Anna nodded slowly. "Ooookay. What made you change your mind?"

"For these last three days I've done nothing but think over what you said. And get caught up on reading those diplomatic dispatches. You were right, Arendelle is ... no, **I**** am** perceived as a threat now. That's … disconcerting. And uncomfortable." The flickering light from the fireplace threw shadows across Elsa's face that emphasized the fatigue and worry etched there.

"Does that mean you're not going to go to Weselton?" Anna asked. She could hope, couldn't she?

Elsa stared into the fire for a moment, then said, "I can't promise that, Anna. We still need to take action against the Duke. Arendelle was attacked; we have the right to defend ourselves. We **must** defend ourselves; that's part of the oath the monarch swears when they are crowned, to protect and defend the realm."

"But ..." Anna began to protest and Elsa shook her head.

"I know that it seems harsh, Anna, but 'turn the other cheek' doesn't work between nations. If we don't show a willingness to fight off attackers, we'll soon be overwhelmed. Arendelle is a small kingdom. It's remained independent because our history has shown that our people will not submit to invaders. I don't want to change that ... I can't change that, not if Arendelle is to stay free."

Anna slumped back and said, "This sounds like one of those tutoring sessions we've had." She looked at Elsa, "So that still doesn't mean that you, personally, have to go sailing off with the fleet. That's what we have Admiral Naismith for."

Kristoff had been silent through the entire exchange, but he had been listening as though his life depended on it. If he were ever going to actually become 'Prince Consort Kristoff', it might. If this was the sort of thing Elsa was tutoring Anna about, maybe he should ask to sit in on some of those sessions.

Elsa squeezed Anna's hand and said, "We can talk about that more, but I'm pretty set on going myself. I'm sorry I snapped at you, though. You are my conscience, reminding me I'm not all-powerful. Just like in ancient Roman triumphs, when there was someone to remind the Caesars they were mortal."

"What's that about?" Kristoff's education was a practical one, and ancient Roman history wasn't part of it.

The question gave Anna an opportunity to squeeze her sister's hand and say, "Well, those guys had slaves to do it, but I guess I'll take the job." She turned to Kristoff and explained, "When the old Roman emperors or generals had a big parade to celebrate some awesome feat of … whatever, it could go to their head. You know, streets lined with crowds cheering their heads off, being showered with riches and stuff? So they would have a slave stand next to them in their chariot muttering, 'Remember, thou art mortal!' so they wouldn't get too full of themselves."

Turning back to Elsa, she continued, "Okay, honey. I get it, although a swelled head is the last thing I'd ever expect from you. Being your strong right hand means I have to tell you stuff you don't want to hear, and not get upset when **you** get upset about me telling you that stuff. Just, remember that I love you, okay? Even if I'm telling you things you don't want to hear?" The look in Anna's eyes begged her sister to understand how much she loved her.

"I will, Anna. Just remember I love you, too, even if I'm angry enough to scream at you," Elsa replied. She leaned into Anna's warmth and closed her eyes as Anna put her arm around her and gave her a little hug.

A few minutes went by. "Kristoff?"

"Yes, Anna?"

"Pass me a couple of cookies, will you? I think Elsa fell asleep, and I can't move."

"Okay." He got up and brought the tray over so Anna could help herself. She grabbed a few and muttered 'thanks' through a mouthful of cookie.

He took one himself when he put the tray back on the sideboard. They were very tasty cookies.

"Sorry you had to see the dysfunctional family in action," Anna whispered.

"Not a problem, Feisty Pants. It fits the definition of a dysfunctional family."

"What is it?" Anna was puzzled.

"A dysfunctional family is one that has more than one person in it." He tucked her arm under his own and gently wrapped his fingers around her hand and gave it a little squeeze. "I would feel very blessed to be part of yours."

A very un-queenly snore broke the silence and Anna giggled. "You're welcome."


	7. Beware the Fury of a Patient Man

**Chapter 7 – **_"Beware the Fury of a Patient Man." _

"_It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways." _**  
― Gautama Buddha **

"_The greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly, hidden in the shadows. Remember that." _**  
― Richelle Mead, **_**Vampire Academy **_

***** Estate of Baron Bjorn Thorstad, Kingdom of Arendelle – December 2, 1840 *****

"Thank you, Nils. You may leave us the cognac and cigars, and that will be all for this evening," Baron Thorstad dismissed his butler as he settled in before a roaring fire on a cold and stormy December night. It had been two weeks since the Royal Council meeting where Elsa had declared that Arendelle would repay the Duke of Weselton for his craven attack by bringing the wrath of the Snow Queen down on his poorly-toupeed head.

He lit a cigar, poured himself a drink and raised his glass to his companion, Monsieur Robin Sylvain Pierre. "Skal, Rob! This is some damn fine liquor you're importing to our tiny kingdom!"

His associate raised his own glass in return and said, "Ah, it warms me even more than your wonderful fire, Bjorn. My blood is used to the warm breezes of southern France, not the polar ice caps of your realm." He smiled at his own jest.

"So, are you done traveling for the season, Rob? The seas are harsh and dangerous now and will be for some months." Thorstad asked.

"Indeed. I was most uncomfortable on this return trip. I almost waited too late to return. Won't the fjords be freezing over soon?"

"Actually, they rarely freeze over completely. Late January and early February tend to be the worst and are very hard for merchant ships, so that is the slow period for trade. Everyone takes a deep breath, counts up their profits for the previous season, relaxes, and plans for the spring season."

"Hmm...then perhaps it is not too late for me to get one or two more shipments of spirits in. What better way to wet down one's decisions but with fine warming drinks around your roaring fires?" Pierre chuckled.

Thorstad had become colleagues and then friends with Pierre after meeting him while on a Continental holiday. They had struck up a conversation in a coffeehouse, discovered they were both merchants and traders, and struck a business deal to introduce Pierre's liquor imports to Arendelle. As the business thrived, so did their friendship. Thorstad found Pierre's sophisticated tastes and insightful political commentary quite engaging, his Gallic charm a welcome change from the stolid folkways of Arendelle. Thorstad fancied himself rather more worldly than his phlegmatic countrymen.

They sat in appreciative silence for a few moments, then Pierre commented, "Apparently your Navy has no qualms about sailing in this weather, eh? We were passed by several of their frigates as we sailed into the harbor five days ago."

"Yes, they are engaging in exercises to insure they can fight effectively in bad weather. It seems that our good Queen Elsa has decided to make a visit to the Duke of Weselton in the new year and explain to him personally why it is a very bad idea to make war on Arendelle. I've never seen her the way she was at the last council meeting. She's always been hard to read, but not this time; it was clear that there was a smoldering volcano underneath that stoic exterior," Thorstad explained. "I believe the duchy will be looking for new leadership once she's finished with them."

Pierre sipped appreciatively of his cognac. "I am so glad I missed the excitement in October. My associates who were here tell me it was quite - fraught – for a few days. Is it true that your Queen surrendered herself into Weselton captivity? That seems - rash."

"Yes, well, apparently it was the only way she could think of to create enough of a distraction to allow her sister to escape. Once Princess Anna was no longer a hostage, all hell broke loose," Thorstad snorted.

"A willing sacrifice for her sister? I thought at one time you believed her to be indifferent or hostile to her sister?" Pierre queried.

"It could have been taken that way; before her coronation she was such a recluse no one really knew her. The Council would see her for three hours once a month in a meeting with a strict agenda and almost no spontaneity. Perhaps a brief, scripted appearance in public for some other reason. The two women were never seen together, so it was a credible speculation that turned out to be quite wrong," admitted Thorstad.

"So, our idea that perhaps the exuberant, easily-influenced childish Princess could replace the skilled, competent Snow Queen was just a passing fancy?"

"Watching the Princess act as Regent these past weeks, it is clear to me that she is exuberant, but not childish. Apparently the King paid close attention to her upbringing as well, if not so very intensely as to the eldest daughter," Thorstad replied. "It was … surprising, indeed. Her style is quite different from her sister, and certainly she is less experienced, not as polished, but … incompetent? No."

Pierre digested this in silence, then said, "How fortunate for your kingdom that the Queen has an able Regent to serve when she is incapacitated."

"Indeed. And for now, the Princess remains the heir, so that if some unfortunate event befell the Queen, and her sister were to take the throne, Arendelle would stay in good hands."

"Not all kingdoms have such happy royal families," Pierre observed. "In many royal courts, the intrigue and scheming that goes on results in convenient deaths and unexpected changes in ruling monarchs. Are you certain that there are no hidden agendas on the part of the Princess? Perhaps a taste of power could result in a craving for more."

"I doubt it. She is quite open in her hero worship of the Queen."

"But the best cover for intrigue is an appearance of naive innocence. If the Princess is as clever as you say, it could be a cunning ruse, an act. What better way to get close enough to the Queen to slip the dagger into her ribs, eh? After all, there may be lingering resentment for all those years of neglect."

Thorstad shook his head and chuckled, "That is one of the most cynical things I have ever heard you say, Rob. You've been reading too much Machiavelli, it seems!"

Not at all chagrined by this comment, Pierre smiled and shrugged. "Look at all the convulsive chaos that has shaken the Continent over the last fifty years, Bjorn. Most of it began as internal strife then devolved into open warfare with surrounding realms, sweeping entire populations into the maelstrom. Much of it the very definition of 'blood' relatives." He smirked at his own wordplay.

"Arendelle is not one of those places, Rob. Our Royal Family, indeed our entire kingdom, has been stodgy, staid, and boring for centuries. Perhaps our Viking ancestors could mete out bloodshed and mayhem with enthusiasm, but this Queen is squeamish and weak-willed, still wedded to the concept of 'mercy' even if she has magic powers over ice and snow."

"_Yet she had the courage to go into a captivity that exposed her to the mercies of brutal, rapacious men and could have meant an ugly death for her,"_ was Pierre's unspoken thought. He sipped at his drink, then looked at his host. "As you say, mon ami. You are far more familiar with the history and culture of this picturesque realm. I am but a visitor, making observations as a stranger, an outsider."

The two men savored their drinks for a few minutes in silence before Pierre took up a different topic of discussion.

"So, Bjorn, how goes the negotiations with those kingdoms trading with Weselton? Is it true that Arendelle is insisting that any realm that wishes to remain in your good graces must renounce their ties to Weselton?" challenged Pierre.

"Yes. It was an approach that I had suggested to the Queen and the Council as a second prong to the strategy of repaying the Duke for his stab in our back. The Admiral has the military response well-planned; this will take even more resources away from Weselton. Impoverished, the Duke cannot hire any more mercenary fleets, nor can he build his Navy into a threat." Thorstad seemed smugly proud of himself.

"I confess I did not realize you were such a strategist, Rob. That is rather clever."

"Yes, and the negotiations with those kingdoms will allow the merchants of Arendelle to replace the trade that used to go to Weselton to the great profit of **this** kingdom."

"Really? I did not think that Arendelle and Weselton had many commodities in common. Your main exports are timber, fish, and ice. I thought that Weselton specialized in wheat and manufactured goods."

"You are correct, as far as it goes. However, our mines supplied much of the metal that Weselton used in the manufacturing of those goods. Since the Queen has declared that we are at war with Weselton, the licensing agreements that limited us from copying the methods used by Weselton are now null and void. We can set up manufactories to use those metal ores here instead of shipping them to another kingdom."

Pierre mulled this over, then purred, "And … if someone involved in these negotiations had already planned to set up such manufactories, he would be well-positioned to profit from this happy turn of events, n'est-ce pas ?"

Thorstad cleared his throat a bit, then said, "Why, of course not, Rob! That would be unethical and probably illegal." The Baron grimaced and lamented, "Our good Queen Elsa is an absolute stickler when it comes to peculation such as that. Look at what happened to our poor colleague Anders. He never recovered his dispassion after she humiliated him, and it led him into that treasonous plot with the Duke."

He took another sip of his drink and then continued in a casual tone, "No, that would never do. On the other hand, if some well-established and successful merchant were to seek out new opportunities for investment, opportunities in a completely new area of endeavor from his current line of trade, that would create no suspicion at all from Her Majesty's auditors." He cocked an eyebrow at Pierre and waited.

The only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire.

Finally, Pierre mused in a dry tone, "You make an excellent point, Rob. It certainly would be unfortunate if the Queen were to lose another member of her Council in the same way she lost our late colleague, Anders."

"Indeed."

"Bjorn, have I told you about an absolutely intriguing business opportunity that I have been considering?" Pierre said with a sly grin.

"Why, no, Rob, what might that be?" Thorstad was examining his drink as though seeking the wisdom of the ages in the golden liquor as he swirled his glass gently.

"I have long been considering expanding my investments into manufacturing. Your kingdom mines several metals that could be used, and setting up operations here would save transportation costs. I believe it would be very profitable, indeed."

Thorstad glanced at his friend with a thin smile. "I can only wish you well in your investments, Rob. Your acumen is well known, I'm sure you will have no problem soliciting other investors."

"I believe so, Bjorn. If you could recommend any … partners, I would be most appreciative of introductions to them."

"I'm sure I could make some contacts for you, Rob," Thorstad murmured. _"And if some of those contacts are a subterfuge for one of my own companies, no one's the wiser."_

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Some time later the fire had burned almost to embers and Pierre rose to take his leave.

"I thank you for your hospitality, Bjorn. May I invite you to my home for dinner one night next week?"

"That would be a delight, Rob. You know I appreciate your chef and the exquisite cuisine that he has brought to Arendelle."

Thorstad escorted his guest to the front door, where his butler waited with Pierre's winter cloak, hat and gloves.

It was a short walk to his own a very nice rented pied-à-terre, as he called it, in the well-to-do quarter of the town. It was spacious and comfortable, and he shared it with two of his top level subordinates. Since his business required him to travel extensively, it made sense to have a shared residence. As he shivered in his woolen cloak he reflected that he was glad that it was only a short walk. Arendelle's weather at this time of year was something that could only be appreciated by those born here.

When he got to his town home and his butler relieved him of his outerwear, he was glad to see that a roaring fire was still blazing in the fireplace of his study. His two compatriots were sitting before it, glasses of cognac in hand. They had thoughtfully poured one for him, and he raised his glass to them in a grateful salute as he sank into the plush cushions of his armchair.

"So, Rob, what news do you bring tonight?" asked one, who used the name Louis Antoine de Saint-Just. He was in his fifties, with graying hair and a small goatee. Louis was Pierre's business manager in Arendelle and was responsible for all of his myriad trading and warehousing operations in the kingdom.

The other man in the room was younger, perhaps 25 or 30. He was known in Arendelle as Georges Auguste Couthon, Marquis d'La Montagne, and Pierre would introduce him as a young protege being groomed for more responsibility. He was of above average height, clean-shaven and blond-haired. He had the manner of a well-bred young man of gentle upbringing.

"Well, it may be, mes amis, that a bright new business opportunity is opening before us," Pierre replied. "In fact, Georges, it may be the perfect opportunity for you to show us your mettle as an entrepreneur."

"I would look forward to such a prospect, Rob. I have studied long under your excellent tutelage and would like to spread my wings on my own."

Pierre explained the changes in Arendelle's trade relationships with its many trading partners to the two men, and they discussed how best to take advantage of the opening this gave them to expand their enterprise. Saint-Just eventually got around to discussing a different topic.

"Rob, the Queen, this desire of hers to take revenge on the Duke, to personally go to Weselton and wreak havoc and bring down _Ragnarök_ on the little weasel's head seems somewhat out of character for a young woman who until a few months ago was rarely seen outside her own bedroom."

"It is, Georges. But I think it is indicative of the trauma she experienced during her vile captivity. Moreover, I don't think the locals understand her behavior and what it may portend."

Couthon raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really, Rob? Why do you think so?"

Pierre stared into the fire and brooded for a moment before answering, "Because, my young friend, there has not been a war involving this kingdom for almost two hundred years. Their military engages in anti-piracy actions, mere skirmishes and usually one-sided skirmishes at that."

"So?"

"So, like you, they have very little experience with the wounds of war that cannot be seen. They do not understand how the inner scars do not heal as quickly as those that can be bandaged and salved. Their Queen is damaged inside, where her bleeding cannot be seen. I doubt that she understands her own feelings in this matter."

Couthon said nothing. He knew that the two older men had grown up during the Reign of Terror that had convulsed France, and that his own experience had indeed been bereft of any exposure to the bloodshed and destruction such a war could inflict on people.

Eventually Georges looked to his colleague and said, "Rob, is there some way perhaps we could … take advantage of this injured Queen?"

"Perhaps, mon ami. I need to think on this for a few days and see if there is some way to turn this to serve our greater purpose. Perhaps a fragile and wounded monarch can be pushed into actions that would discredit her and open the door to … alternate forms of governance."

"Vive la révolution!" Georges raised his glass and drained it.

"Vive la révolution!" answered the other two men.


	8. Another Arrow In The Quiver

**Chapter 8 – Another Arrow In The Quiver**

"_Always take the most unexpected route" _  
**― Jennifer Estep, **_**Widow's Web **_

"_Clean hands, Sansa. Whatever you do, make certain your hands are clean." _**  
― George R.R. Martin, **_**A Storm of Swords **_

***** Ducal Palace, Duchy of Weselton, December 15, 1840 *****

"Your Grace, if Arendelle attacks us with their oldest ships crewed by their newest recruits, we can't stop them. If SHE comes along with the elite squadrons of her Navy you may as well hang the white flags at the harbor entrance and save us the trouble of cleaning up the wreckage."

The Duke of Weselton's face grew red as he pounded his fist on the table. "Maybe I ought to hang YOU at the harbor entrance, as a warning to any fool who thinks he's an Admiral that dares tell me to surrender like a craven weakling!"

One does not rise to the rank of Admiral in even a poorly-run navy without some courage. "Your Grace, it is your prerogative to do whatever you wish. You can have my resignation or my head if you want it. That will not change the reality when Arendelle comes sailing into your harbor with guns blazing and the Snow Queen in a rage."

The Duke sat back in his chair at the head of the table and fumed. He had called together his military advisers to review the latest dispatches from their agents in Arendelle. There wasn't much in them that wasn't public knowledge and published in the little kingdom's newspaper; apparently Admiral Naismith had learned the concept of 'operational security' after the attack in October, and swiftly clamped down on casual gossip about military matters by the forces under his command. Sailors still got drunk in bars, but their officers at least stopped talking about strategy and tactics where the wrong ears might hear them.

"What DO you suggest, then, Admiral?" The Duke ground out through clenched teeth.

"Frankly, I don't have any suggestions that would help from a military aspect. No, the solution to our problem is not to be found in weapons of war."

"What's left?" asked the Duke.

"Your specialty, Your Grace. Political maneuvering. We've made a good start on that with our version of what happened in Arendelle. When the other kingdoms came to us to reduce trade, we made it clear to them that the evil Snow Queen would eventually attack them, too. Just like she destroyed our 'merchant convoy'. Some of them are even gullible enough to believe it. The same approach with our own people has helped cut down on some of the unrest that pig Rödräv has been stirring up. All that needs to continue."

The Duke pushed back his chair, stood up and began to pace around the conference table. "That's all well and good, but it still won't stop her from coming here and destroying us. Fat lot of good it will do me to ruin her reputation if I'm dead!"

He stopped pacing and turned to his advisers and shouted, "Get out. Go! This is useless. You're useless. If you can't think of a way to stop Arendelle, at least go hunt down that traitor fomenting revolution! Out!"

The men beat a hasty exit. The Duke began pacing again. It occurred to him that there was one other approach that might work. He sat at his desk and began to write.

Three days later his butler came to him and announced, "Your Grace, you have a visitor. He states his name is Jón Grár."

The Duke looked up from the report he was reading and replied, "Very well, bring him here. Give me five minutes."

He sat up in his desk chair, a chair cleverly raised on a pedestal to give him a height advantage to intimidate supplicants who came to speak to him. A discreet knock at the door and his butler's voice announcing, "Your Grace? Herr Grár."

Herr Grár was a nondescript individual, dressed in unremarkable garb such as any ordinary middle class citizen of the Duchy of Weselton might wear. The colors were muted and would blend easily into a crowd. A face with no distinguishing characteristics looked blandly at the Duke. Brownish hair and brownish eyes completed the picture. If anyone were asked to describe this person, it would sound like the description of a thousand men of the Duchy. The ability to blend into the crowd was his stock in trade.

"Your Grace, thank you for making time for me today," said the visitor with a courtly bow of respect. If the smile on his face could be described as more 'acerbic' than 'respectful', that was a matter of opinion.

"It took you long enough," snarled the Duke as he gestured at his guest to seat himself. "I had expected you to jump at another job."

"Why, Your Grace, did you think that the address I had given you was my actual place of business? I would not long survive if I were that easy to find." Herr Grár waved airily. "No, my mail takes a rather roundabout way to find me. I apologize if the delay was an annoyance." He went on, "May I ask what matter vexes you so that I might be a solution?"

"One thing that I'd hire you for is to deal with Rödräv once and for all," fumed the little man.

His visitor shook his head. "It is with regret that I must turn down that commission, Your Grace. Rödräv is as unknown to me as he is to you. The reward you have offered for his head should have flushed him by now. That it has not bodes ill for you indeed."

"So, if you can't find me that pest, what else do you think I might have in mind?"

Grár looked to the ceiling and put on a thoughtful air. "It seems all the news in the town is filled with doom and gloom about the impending invasion of the invincible Snow Queen, enraged and looking to wreak her vengeance upon you. Or is it her rage at her own perfidy for destroying your perfectly innocent merchant convoy? I lose track of the stories, sometime." He tapped his lips while staring over the Duke's head. "Yet, by all accounts, she is just a young woman, as vulnerable as you or I to a bullet or cross-bow bolt."

"Indeed, and if those two idiots I sent after her had done their jobs last July – "

"If they had done what you had sent them to do, it is likely you would still be buried under the miles of snow that would have entombed Arendelle if she hadn't brought back summer. Now, however, there are no howling blizzards that need to be contained, and thus may her death be brought about rather more … safely," he purred.

The Duke drummed his fingertips on his desk as he considered this. "I can count on your discretion? There must be no hint that I have anything to do with this!"

An impish grin was the response, then, "My discretion, Your Grace? Surely my past commissions serve as recommendations of my discretion in disguising a death as appearing innocent and natural. For example, your late business associate, Mr. Reinertsen?"

"Splattering one's brains all over the ceiling is hardly natural. And a confession of treason hardly innocent." scoffed the Duke.

"Your Grace, every word of that note was the absolute truth; he DID commit treason against Arendelle, did he not? The only … inaccurate words in his missive was the part about it being **his** choice to face a higher justice than Her Majesty Elsa of Arendelle."

The Duke looked thoughtful for a moment as he considered this. "It would certainly be convenient if she committed suicide. Think you could make it look like that?"

"Seriously, Your Grace? No, I'm afraid not." his guest snorted. "I am skilled, but I am no miracle worker. Slipping into Reinertsen's manor and staging that scene was straightforward. Elsa of Arendelle lives in a well-secured castle surrounded by humorless guards who have amply demonstrated their willingness to die without hesitation to save her. For that matter, what reason would she have to kill herself? By all accounts, she is secure on her throne and happily reunited with her sister. No, I'm afraid this assassination will perforce look exactly like what it is. But I can assure you that YOU will not be splashed with her blood."

"Who then?" demanded the Duke.

"Do you care? You're not her only enemy, you know. Be assured that Weselton will not be blamed and be satisfied with that."

The Duke fidgeted. His guest sat with the ease of a man with a clear conscience, relaxed and waiting for the Duke to make the only decision he could.

"Very well. What's your price?"

His guest named the sum and was greeted with a howl of, "Robbery! Completely out of the question!"

"Your Grace, compared to what it will cost you once she sails into your harbor, my fee is but a trifle. Considering who the target is, no one else would take the commission at any price. They all consider her unreachable. In truth, it is less than the cost of your debacle of a 'trade fleet'. You should have considered hiring me first. I am your only alternative to complete disaster now."

"There was a chance of great riches with the 'trade fleet'; this investment returns nothing but the satisfaction of knowing she is dead. IF she dies. What makes you so convinced that she is vulnerable to you? As you just pointed out, she is surrounded by guards at all times," the Duke challenged him.

"Ah, Your Grace, my methods are my stock in trade. If I shared them with every client, I would soon be out of business. I will promise you this; if I fail, and I will not fail, your deposit will be returned to you. You have my word on it."

The Duke frowned as he considered the offer. The word of a professional killer? Yet, what other alternative did he have? "I have no choice but accept. Half now to your local account, half when I hear the news of the sad passing of the Queen of Arendelle," snarled the Duke. "Go. I'll wait for news of your success with great anticipation."

His guest rose, bowed politely, and left the study. He was already planning the voyage to Arendelle. Speed was of the essence; no one was sure when she would come to Weselton, the only sure thing was that it would be after Jul. Just enough time to get there and set it up. How unfortunate the seas were so rough at this time of year.

Still brooding after Grár's departure, the Duke of Weselton considered whether there was anything else he could do to ensure that the Queen of Arendelle would never find peace, save that of the grave. His eyes drifted across his desk and picked out a letter he had received the day before. His first inclination had been to throw it out with the rest of his trash. Now he was glad that he hadn't. Yes, there was at least one more arrow in his quiver.

He pulled out a fresh quill, dipped it in the ink-pot and began to write.


	9. Glad Tidings of Comfort and Joy

**Chapter 9 – Glad Tidings of Comfort and Joy**

**Author's Note: **This chapter is pure fluff and a teensy bit of character development. I researched Scandinavian Christmas customs and tried to sift out any anachronisms. But it seemed to me that our Queen and Princess needed at least one respite from all the angst and deserved a holiday from the pressure and woe of governing a kingdom. It will be the last happy time for quite a while, I'm afraid.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

"_Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." _  
**― Laura Ingalls Wilder **

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

It was "Little Christmas Eve", December 23rd, and Anna was running from one room of the castle to another, directing the servants who were putting up the Christmas decorations. This would be the first Jul since Elsa's coronation, the first time in 13 years that it would be a truly joyous Christmas, and Anna was trying so hard to make it perfect that Kristoff was worried that she would collapse in a pile of mistletoe and fir boughs before midnight.

"Hey, Feisty Pants, slow down! Everything is looking absolutely wonderful, the servants are more enthused about this than you are, if that's even possible!" Kristoff was talking to Anna's ankles, as she was on a ladder trying to hang even more garlands of holly above the fireplace in the Great Room. She was too impatient to wait for Gerda or one of the other servants to help her.

She stretched just a hair too far, overbalanced, and landed in Kristoff's arms, the garland draping itself on them as it fell off the pegs she was trying to hang it on.

Kristoff huffed as he found himself holding an armful of beautiful princess, red-faced and disheveled from her exertions.

She looked up at him and giggled, "Another crazy trust exercise, hey?"

He carefully put her down, then gently unwound the garland from her shoulders. "I'll always be there to catch you, Feisty Pants," and he leaned down to give her a chaste peck on the cheek.

Anna had other ideas, though. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a more passionate kiss than he was expecting. He responded by dropping the garland and carefully, so gently pulling her closer, leaning into the kiss with enthusiasm.

There was no telling how long this would have gone on had Olaf not come bouncing into the room and announced, "Hey, Anna, Gerda wants to know how many more garlands we're going to need!"

Kristoff and Anna drew apart a little sheepishly. At least it hadn't been Elsa looking for her sister. That had happened once recently and it wasn't clear which of the three of them had been more embarrassed. Kristoff noticed that since then Elsa made a point of being rather more … noisy … walking through the castle than he remembered her ever being before the 'incident'.

"Thanks, Olaf," Anna responded to the little snowlem while continuing to look into Kristoff's eyes, desire clear in her own. _"Later!"_ she mouthed at him, and winked.

Kristoff felt the heat of his own desire rising, and thought of cold water with large blocks of ice floating in it. _"Snow Queen, garden statue, pigeons,"_ he muttered soundlessly as he tried to regain his composure.

He followed Anna out of the room to finish the decorating, wondering how many places she had hung mistletoe around the palace. His self-control had limits and he recognized thin ice when he saw it.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

"Come on, sleepyhead, wake up, wake up, wake up! Gledelig Jul!"

Someone was shaking Anna, trying to get her to wake up. A bleary eye looked out from under the blanket; the room was dim with the feeble light of a late December sunrise. It was almost 9 o'clock, but that was still an early rising for Anna. She burrowed deeper into the blankets and muttered, "'m asleep. Go 'way..."

Elsa shook her head and smirked; she hated to use drastic measures, but needs must. Elsa peeled the blanket back from her sister's head and flexed her hand. The resulting snow down the neck of Anna's nightgown got the desired result as Anna shrieked and levitated out of the bed, landing sprawled on the floor with a thump. Elsa's giggles didn't improve Anna's mood until she remembered what day it was.

"It's Christmas!" she whooped as she jumped up, grabbed Elsa's hands in her own and swung her around joyously. "Gledelig Jul, Elsa!"

Elsa laughed with equal delight. It had been many long years since she had last woken Anna up on Christmas morning. She managed to stop Anna from swinging her around again, then hugged her tightly in her arms. "Oh, Anna, I … I love you so much."

Anna leaned into the hug with her own embrace, tears welling in her eyes as she felt Elsa's heart beating against her own. "I love you, too, honey. I'll never stop loving you."

The two women drew apart, sniffling and trying to wipe their cheeks inconspicuously. Elsa grinned and pointed, "Look, Anna!"

Anna squealed with glee. There, hanging on the mantle of the room's fireplace, was a stocking stuffed with candy. "Oh how wonderful! Did you get one, too?" Anna was already popping a piece of marzipan into her mouth, muffling her words.

Elsa giggled again, "Of course! You're not the only overgrown child in this castle you know!" Elsa drew herself up in a caricature of her 'I'm the Queen!' pose and sniffed, "Queen's privilege!" and then dissolved into more laughter.

Anna grinned, then grabbed the robe laying on the chair next to her bed and threw it on. "Come on, a quick breakfast, then final preparations for tonight!"

They left, arm in arm, laughing together on Christmas for the first time in forever.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

They had a late lunch, with the risengrynsgrøt (rice porridge) generously flavored with butter, sugar and cinnamon. Kristoff found the almond in his, and was given the pink marzipan pig as his reward. They were eating in the small family dining room. Dinner would be a formal affair, with all the trappings and place settings that hadn't been used even at Elsa's Coronation.

Kristoff worried a little about dinner; he would be dressed in his finest clothes and it would be the first time he would share table with Elsa and Anna in such a formal setting. The dinners he had been invited to before this were more family-style, with very little excess ceremony. Careful observation had let him figure out the correct fork to use and he gradually became more comfortable in Elsa's presence. Today would be harder, but … he had a surprise for the two women. He hoped.

There was another Julaften tradition that the sisters would share today …

The setting sun was just peeking through the low afternoon clouds. The twilight seemed appropriate as the Queen and the Princess stood before the two gray stones looming before them. They each held a lit candle, Elsa in her left hand, Anna in her right. They were holding hands as they stepped forward and placed the candles in front of the cenotaphs of their parents.

Elsa leaned forward to touch her forehead to her father's stone. "Oh, papa!" she whispered, "I miss you and mama so. I'm sorry this is the first time I've come here for this."

Anna's tears ran freely down her cheeks as she watched Elsa. Her own heart had ached the three times she had come here by herself to place the candles. She still missed her parents, but now she had her sister back, and the shared grief was lessened by their shared love.

"Oh, Elsa, they would be so proud of you," Anna tried to soothe her sister. She tugged gently on Elsa's hand, "They know you would have come if you could have. If anyone would understand, it would be them."

Elsa wrapped her arm around Anna's waist and leaned into her sister, seeking her support. "I know, but ..."

"No buts! Remember what we promised each other when we came here after the Thaw – we forgave them, and we forgive ourselves. Dwelling on all the mistakes we all made is useless – we learn, and we move on. Right?" Anna hugged Elsa closer.

"You're right. I know you're right, and I won't spoil Jul for you," Elsa sighed.

"You won't spoil Jul for either of us. We've honored our parents, we've told them we love them and miss them, and now we're going back down to Arendelle for dinner and presents and everything else you've missed for all those years, understand?" Anna shook Elsa's arm a little for emphasis.

Elsa finally smiled; Anna's bubbly personality couldn't be denied for long when she was like this. And in truth, Elsa was looking forward to the traditional dinner and tree and presents with the same giddiness she remembered from when she was little.

With a last nod to the stones, the two sisters went arm and arm down the hill and back to the castle.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa and Anna went to church when they got back. It was a tradition to do so before dinner on Julaften. Bishop Norgaard greeted them as they entered as if they were just two more of his flock. Elsa appreciated that; she did not come to church often, but when she did it was as a humble young woman seeking spiritual comfort, not as a Queen looking for deference or adulation.

There was a steady flow of worshipers coming and going through the church, and no one intruded on the privacy of the two sisters. Like the Bishop, the people of Arendelle gave Elsa the gift of solitude today.

The two of them sat in solemn prayer for a short while, then slipped out as inconspicuously as they could.

When they got back inside the castle, it was after four and Christmas Eve dinner was scheduled for 5 p.m.

"Anna, we need to hurry and change for dinner! Are you sure Kristoff will be there and in his best attire?" Elsa was more worried about Anna being punctual, but she had to ask.

"Oh, sure, he'll be there and all dressed up! Don't worry!" Anna brushed off Elsa's concern with blithe confidence, but inside she had a few qualms of her own. Since the beginning of their official courtship, Anna had tried to tactfully offer Kristoff lessons in etiquette and protocol. If their courtship progressed to an engagement and then marriage, he would need those skills.

Just as tactfully, Kristoff had turned her down with the excuse that he had plenty of time for that stuff and there was no point in rushing things. So far she hadn't had any reason to complain about his comportment, but this would be the first really formal event he would attend.

Today's dinner would be just the three of them, but it would have all the formal trappings that a royal dinner could have. Elsa hadn't wanted to deal with the stress of guests, but she did want this to be memorable for her and Anna. It was their first Christmas dinner in a very long time, and she wanted it to be special.

As she changed into her evening dress, Anna fretted that Kristoff would stab himself with the fish fork or something even worse and embarrass himself in front of Elsa. Besides turning down etiquette lessons, he gently deflected any suggestions that she help him acquire a new wardrobe. She had no idea what he would wear tonight, although he had assured her he knew how to dress for these occasions.

Anna finished pinning the ribbons into her hair, then ran through the halls to the dining room.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Anna found Elsa standing in the hall outside the small dining room having a conversation with Kai about something. A rueful head-shake greeted her as she almost skidded into her sister, but Elsa smiled indulgently as she reached to steady Anna.

"Gledelig Jul, min kjære søster!" Elsa couldn't stop the silly smile curling the corners of her mouth, nor could she stop from reaching out to embrace Anna and give her a peck on the cheek. There were days when her soul was dark with fear and worry, but today wasn't one of them.

Anna hugged her back, then untangled herself and gave Elsa a graceful curtsy while replying, "Gledelig Jul, min vakre modig søster!" She was the very picture of sophisticated grace, until she straightened up and burst into giggles.

As they stood there the church bells began to ring; it was five o'clock, the traditional time for Christmas dinner. Elsa took a breath to ask Anna where Kristoff was when he walked around the corner to join them, on the last peal of the bell marking the time.

Elsa, being the Queen, was schooled in concealing startlement; Anna had the same schooling, but often forgot it at times. This was one of those times.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Gledelig Jul!" Kristoff said as he bowed gallantly to the two women. He was smiling, although Elsa thought she could detect a hint of insecurity, as though he were expecting … rejection?

He was dressed in elaborate finery; his boots were polished reindeer hide, although they still had the curled-up toes like his work boots. These had silver medallions on the ankles. The pants tucked into the boots were a fine black wool. His thigh-length tunic was predominately the green of Arendelle, but there was a wide purple and gold trim at the hem and on the cuffs of the sleeves. Anna could see the collar of a fine cream colored linen shirt through the collar of the tunic, and a gold-hued silk scarf was tied around Kristoff's neck. It was not anything like what Anna or Elsa thought that he would wear, but it was clearly of the highest quality workmanship and materials.

Straightening to stand tall, he said to Anna, "Your Highness, may I escort you in to dinner?"

Anna was standing in a most un-princesslike pose, her mouth hanging open in an unabashed gawk. His request finally penetrated her addled brain and she closed her mouth with an audible click, then blushed at her own gaucherie. "We may. I mean, you may. Oh, drat … " she took his proffered arm and looked to Elsa. As Queen, she would enter the dining room first and they would follow her.

Elsa nodded to Kai, who opened the dining room doors for the little party. She entered the room with her usual elegance, followed by Kristoff and Anna.

The table was set for three, with Elsa seated at the head of the table and two more place settings, one to her right and one to her left. As Princess, Anna would sit to Elsa's right, and Kristoff would be across the table from her.

Once Kai had held Elsa's chair for her to be seated, Kristoff held Anna's chair for her, then went around the table to his own place.

There was a somewhat … fraught … silence, then Elsa spoke. She was the hostess, after all, and she wanted her guest to feel comfortable.

"Kristoff, may I compliment you on your finery this evening? You look very handsome."

He flushed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty, if I may, the beauty of the Queen of Arendelle and her sister is incomparable. I could only hope to do honor to your table by doing my humble best to match their elegance." He knew he sounded stilted, but he wanted to be … worthy of Anna. He needed to learn how to do this properly.

"Please, Kristoff. That will be quite enough of 'Your Majesty' out of you! 'Elsa' is my name, and I command you to use it," Elsa was teasing him, but she really did want him to treat her as family-to-hopefully-be. She reached for her napkin to start the meal.

Elsa was watching closely, if unobtrusively, as Kristoff took his own napkin from the table, unfolded it and laid it in his lap precisely according to protocol. Elsa had to suppress a snort; Anna often didn't bother to pay such close attention to the details of formal dining.

As the meal progressed, Anna had regained her usual giddy persona and everyone relaxed into the warm glow of family at Christmas dinner. Kristoff continued to show that he knew exactly which fork, spoon or knife to use. Elsa could tell he was concentrating on what he was doing, but he was doing it perfectly. She wondered how he had learned to navigate his way through the utensils and place settings.

They were finishing desert, a dish of leftover porridge from lunch mixed with whipped cream, called riskrem, accompanied by warm spicy gløgg. Elsa sipped at her drink, then asked, "Are we all done? Ready for the rest of the evening?"

Kristoff rose to help Elsa and then Anna from their chair, then offered Anna his arm again and they followed Elsa into the hall leading to the Great Room where the tree and presents were waiting.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

It was well after midnight and Christmas Day would be busy. There would be a bonfire in the courtyard as Elsa hosted an open house for the people of Arendelle. The carolers would be coming and going all day as the townspeople circulated to visit friends and family. The castle kitchen had baked mounds of _pepperkake _gingerbread cookies and there would be gløgg, _Juleøl_ beer and akvavit to toast the day. Elsa really needed to get some sleep, tomorrow would be a long day of hospitality.

Elsa had slipped into bed and was dozing off when she heard the door to her bedroom creak open and soft footsteps on the rug, then felt the bed shift as Anna slipped under the covers. She smiled and snuggled into her sister's embrace.

"Aren't you exhausted yet, honey?" Elsa murmured.

"Pretty much, but I wasn't going to let you miss out on any time with me tonight. I loved the whole day, thank you for everything."

Elsa could feel her sister's grin against her ear, even if she couldn't see it. She whispered, "I never want to miss out on time with you again. I had missed this so much during all the time we were apart. I wanted this year to make up for all of that loneliness."

"It did, it was perfect. And full of surprises. You're not the only stinker I have to deal with, it seems!" Anna giggled.

"Umm?" Elsa made a little noise of inquiry, wondering what Anna was talking about.

"Kristoff! He had pushed off any suggestions that he needed my help dealing with protocol and etiquette, and then he shows up in those beautiful clothes and acts like he knows more about the fish knife than I do!"

Elsa rolled over to face her sister and pushed herself up on one elbow. "I'll slide right by the chance to nag you yet again on your table manners and agree that he was perfect. So how **did** he manage it?"

Anna sat up and waved her arms as she exclaimed, "He has been working with Kai for the last couple of months! He says he talked to him about it even before the Weselton thing. Kai was thrilled for his own reasons. Seems like hiring all those new servants to build up the staff was causing Kai to tear his hair out training them and Kristoff was a perfect practice subject; they wouldn't be as nervous around him. And if they spilled soup or wine on him, they wouldn't be as mortified as if they were training on you or me. And Kristoff got to rehearse all the fine points over and over, and listen to Kai repeatedly explain it to the new staff in detail. Win-win, he called it."

Laying back down, Elsa chuckled and said, "That **was** killing two birds with one stone, wasn't it?"

An answering chuckle from Anna as she said, "Well, he's not the perfect prince yet. He still can't dance worth a hoot! My toes can attest to that! And he weighs a lot more than that little snot from Weaseltown! At least he doesn't wear heels."

Elsa smiled at her sister's description of the loathsome Duke. At her coronation the sight of him dancing, _'__Like a chicken...with the face of a monkey'_, toupee flopping, had been very funny. She was sure Kristoff had much more potential.

"Kristoff had a lot going on with his harvesting, the guild, and taking etiquette lessons from Kai, there probably wasn't time to fit in dancing. Look at it this way: he needs a partner to learn how to dance, and if he tries to do that with any partner but you, I'm sure you'll let him know he'll be sleeping out in the stables again."

Anna put her head on Elsa's shoulder and wrapped her arm around her and said, "Yeah, but he could have warned me about tonight!"

"I think he may have felt it was his turn to exasperate you for a change, honey."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna yawned and started to doze off.

"Nothing, Anna, nothing at all." Elsa kissed her tenderly and fell into a warm slumber herself.

**x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x **

**To save you all the trouble of checking google translate:**

"Gledelig Jul, min kjære søster!" is "Merry Christmas, my dear sister"

"Gledelig Jul, min vakre modig søster!" is "Merry Christmas, my beautiful, brave sister"

Anna still (and always will have) has a case of hero-worship for Elsa, especially after the events of _"Worthy Queen". _She says it a little teasingly, but she means it.

In case you are wondering, Kristoff was dressed in traditional Sami garb. I'm terrible at describing clothing, but I found a picture on the Disney Wiki or someplace that was a concept art drawing of Kristoff in his finery. I changed the color scheme a little, but he looks good in it! The pic is on my tumblr, by request.

Okay, that's the last of the fluffy goodness, folks. The reindeer poop will be hitting the fan from here on.


	10. Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown

**Chapter 10 – Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown**

"_If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."_**  
― Linda Sunshine **

"_If you shoot at a king you must kill him."_  
**– Ralph Waldo Emerson **

**x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x **

Christmas had come and gone, and the January doldrums had set in.

Kristoff wasn't going off to the mountains to harvest ice, but he was busy for long hours of the day as the formalities for setting up the Ice Harvesters' Guild came to a peak. Elections for the guild offices were coming up in three weeks, and although Kristoff was too modest to campaign for the job, it looked like his friends and colleagues were going to elect him as the Guild Master. Which would be more work. Which meant Anna would see even less of him than she had in the last month.

Elsa was busy working out the details of the Weselton attack with the Admiral and his staff and too immersed in the diplomacy issues surrounding that to have time for much else. She tried to keep Anna in the middle of the preparations for the expedition to Weselton, but Anna was still pushing back on the 'Elsa is going to Weaselton with the Navy' concept.

"No, Elsa, I still think that you could just send Admiral Naismith and the Navy to deal with that little weasel. YOU do not need to go there and personally beat the snow out of him!" Anna was trying to keep her voice at a reasonable volume level, but it was hard.

They were in Elsa's study. Anna had fallen into the routine of at least trying to stay current on the correspondence crossing Elsa's desk, since she would have to act as Regent again while Elsa was off dealing with Weselton. Anna paced back and forth in front of the window while Elsa looked at her in dismay. This conversation had taken place too many times in the last month and they were still no closer to agreement on the topic.

"Anna, you're overlooking one key fact here, one thing that actually makes it reasonable for me to go along," Elsa tried once again to persuade her sister. She had one last point to make that she hoped would get through Anna's stubborn intransigence.

Her sister plopped into a side chair, slumped down in a most un-princess-like fashion, crossed her arms and huffed, "Yeah? Okay, convince me."

There was a bleak melancholy in Elsa's glance at Anna. "My magic doesn't kill anybody if I don't want it to. I can't say that about the cannons and muskets of the Navy."

Anna exhaled sharply as her sister's words sunk in. She really hadn't thought of that; she had been so focused on Elsa's magic being used for destruction that she had forgotten that Elsa controlled her magic precisely now. Since bringing back summer, Elsa's magic did exactly what she wanted it to, no more, no less. She could kill someone with it, but if she did, it would be because Elsa wanted that someone dead. And so far, at least, the Queen had made it clear that killing was something she defined as an absolute last resort, to be used only if there was no other way, and even then only in self-defense.

"You're … right. I hadn't really thought of that," Anna reluctantly admitted.

Elsa got up to pace this time. "And, there's the 'scary Ice Queen' factor, too. If they run away without firing a shot, so much the better. That wouldn't happen if the Arendelle Navy sailed into the Weselton harbor without me. The Duke may have shortchanged his navy of funds, but I doubt that his men are cowards. They'll be fighting to defend their homes, so they would fight even if it looked hopeless. Unless it was against something like … me. Something magical, something that mortal men can't defeat and where running away wouldn't shame them."

Still slumped in the chair, Anna said, "But what makes you think his men fear you that much? I mean, it sounds good, but ..."

"We can thank the Duke for that. Colonel Nordholm's latest report includes a lot of the wild stories the Duke is feeding his people. In his quest to use me as a fairy tale to prop up his own rule, he's managed to create a larger-than-life ogre that we think will work against him when we actually show up." She stopped in front of the window and stood wringing her hands as she looked out over the frozen-over fjord and said pensively, "He's created a monster, and it's name is Elsa of Arendelle."

She turned and sat down at her desk again. Anna noticed that Elsa had clasped her hands and pulled them into her lap where they couldn't be seen. They were probably trembling. Anna knew it was something that Elsa couldn't control, and it happened every time she mentioned the battle in the courtyard when she had come so close to dying. At least she didn't fall into a panic attack at the bare mention of the fight anymore.

Anna reached out to touch Elsa lightly on the shoulder, hoping to soothe her fear and reassure her of her support. "You're not a monster, Elsa, no matter what reindeer poop the Duke tries to spread about you. You're my sister, who I love and admire, not someone I'd think of as a monster. So, I can't see you like the Weasels do. Doesn't change the fact that I'll be scared witless for you the whole time you're gone."

"I know you will. And I'm not going to tell you not to worry. I'm scared, too. I've seen close up what musket balls and cold steel can do. I've seen the chaos of battle, and I know how life or death can turn on a whim of fate. Worse, I'm frightened not just for my own life, but for all the lives that could be destroyed if I don't handle this properly." Elsa leaned back in her chair and squeezed her eyes shut. "Papa didn't train me for **this**. Arendelle hasn't fought a war in more than two hundred years. Even the Navy is sailing into uncharted waters."

They sat in glum silence for long minutes, until Anna finally couldn't stand being cooped up inside another minute.

"I'm tired of reading dispatches and reports about who's mad at us this week. Let's go into town. The sun is actually out today and I feel like the walls of this castle are squeezing my brains into mush." Anna jumped up out of the chair and grabbed Elsa's hand, dragging her toward the door.

"Anna, I have too much to do!" protested the Queen.

"And guess what? It'll all still be here when we get back, more's the pity. Besides, today's the first Monday of the month, and it's our regular 'go into town and mingle with the people' day. Or had you forgotten that?" retorted Anna.

Elsa **had** forgotten that in the heat of the discussion. It was something she had started doing after the Great Thaw – going into town and spending the day being available to anyone who wanted to talk to her. It had been hard the first month or two, when she still wasn't totally comfortable with people after so long in isolation. But she got better at it. The only month she had missed was November, and that was because she was still recovering from her wounds.

"You're right. Go get your heavy cloak and hat, though. It's still cold even if the sun is out. I'll meet you in the entryway," Elsa gave Anna a little push to get her on her way, then headed for the castle's front doorway. She sent the guard off to tell Captain Gunnarsson where she was going, and that Anna would be accompanying her. She knew he would come along and bring a guard detail with him.

Elsa hated the need for guards any time she or Anna left the protection of the castle, but Arendelle – no – **she** had enemies, and they had already demonstrated a ruthless disregard for human life in their quest to kill or injure her. And their willingness to strike at her through Anna.

She didn't have to wait long for Anna. She ran up, huffing and puffing while tying on her cloak. Elsa giggled as she reached out to straighten her woolen cap, which had somehow gotten turned around the wrong way.

"Thanks," muttered Anna as she pulled on her mittens. "Ready? I promise to buy the hot chocolate today!"

Elsa smiled and took her arm and they headed across the courtyard for the walk into the marketplace. They were almost to the now empty, snow-covered flower stand when Anna stumbled. She had been waving her arms describing the latest Sven-Olaf adventure, acting out something Olaf had done. Since HER body didn't conveniently come apart to be easily reassembled, her cloak tangled in her legs and she tripped, taking Elsa down with her as her sister tried to catch her.

Which meant that the bullet that caused a loud 'crack!' to split the air, that ricocheted off the cobblestones and sent sharp fragments of stone and metal into the legs of the guardsmen and Anna, then embedded itself in the door post of a nearby house, didn't kill the Queen as it had been intended to do.

"Protect the Queen!" screamed Eric as he looked up at the surrounding rooftops, seeking the assassin.

Two of the guardsmen threw themselves onto the Queen and her sister, protecting them from a possible second shot with their own bodies, ignoring the pain and the blood staining their trousers from the shrapnel. The others formed a tight circle surrounding the four bodies on the ground, rifles at the ready, eyes flashing from house to house, rooftop to rooftop, alert for another attempt.

Nothing. There was no sign of a gun or a gunman. The sound of the gunshot had echoed off the high hills surrounding the harbor so it was hard to decide which direction it had come from. Eric couldn't be sure if he saw a puff of gun smoke rising from a distant roof across the harbor or if it was just a swirl of wood-smoke from the chimney of the house.

"Sergeant, we need to get the Queen and the Princess inside NOW! Check out that shop!" Eric commanded one of the men as he pointed to the closest doorway with his sword.

Jorgensen ran inside, then came back to the door and shouted, "All clear, sir!"

Dignity and decorum left behind in the name of urgency, Elsa and Anna found themselves pulled to their feet and hustled inside the shop. Eric and three of the men followed them inside, two remained outside to guard the shop door. Eric sent one man to guard the back door then turned to Elsa and asked, "Your Majesty, are you and Princess Anna okay?"

"Yes," she gasped as she helped Anna sit. He accepted that for the moment. He needed to send for reinforcements.

"You! Run back to the castle and get another squad and Her Majesty's carriage. Have Kai send a messenger to the Marine Barracks and report what happened. And another messenger to the Admiral," Eric barked orders to his man, then turned to check on the Queen and the Princess again. "Your Majesty?"

After Elsa had helped Anna sit she slumped into a chair herself, trying to slow her pounding heartbeat. "I'm … I'm fine, Captain, Anna, are you … Anna!" she cried as she noticed the blood stain on Anna's skirt.

Anna was wincing as she reached down to raise her skirt and look at the cuts on her legs. "Ow. That stings, what happened?"

"Someone tried to kill you, Your Majesty," Eric ground out between clenched teeth. "Your Highness, we need to get those wounds looked at." He looked around and saw the shopkeeper and an assistant cowering against a wall, wondering what the Queen and her sister and her very angry looking guard were doing in their shop.

"You, there," Eric commanded. "Is there an apothecary nearby?"

"Y … yes, sir," stammered the shopkeeper. "Three doors down."

"Could you send your assistant there to bring the physician?" Eric tried to moderate his voice into something less harsh. He could tell these people were frightened. Well, so was he.

"I'll go right quick, sir," the assistant said, and ran out the door.

"And bring a Gendarme, too, we'll need to search for signs of this vile coward!" Eric shouted as the man left the shop. He turned his attention to the Queen again.

Elsa had knelt to check on Anna's injuries. They didn't seem to be serious, there was blood oozing slowly from several small cuts, just scratches, nothing more. She looked at the shopkeeper and asked, "Could you bring me a basin of water and some cloths so I can take care of my sister?"

He gulped and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. Right away." He ran into the back of the shop, returning almost at once with a basin, a pitcher, and some towels draped over his arm. He placed the items on the floor next to Anna.

Captain Gunnarsson said, "You should wait for the physician, Your Majesty. He'll be here in a minute or two."

She glared up at him, "I'll tend to my sister, Captain." She looked around, "I suspect the physician will be busy with your men. Look to them." She dipped one of the towels in the basin and began to gently clean the cuts on Anna's leg.

Elsa was right. One of the guards was bleeding enough that the stain on his trouser leg was dripping into a small puddle at his feet. He was ignoring it, keeping a watchful eye on the door.

There was a commotion at the door, then a Gendarme officer came in, followed by the shopkeeper's assistant and a bespectacled man carrying a leather satchel. Eric presumed he was the physician.

The physician spoke first, asking, "Who is it that needs my care?"

Elsa pointed to the injured guardsman, "That man is bleeding badly. I can handle my sister." Anna nodded to confirm what the Queen was saying, although she let out a small yelp as Elsa wiped at one of the cuts.

The physician was torn. His inclination was to take care of the Princess first, but his Queen had instructed him otherwise. He looked at Eric for guidance.

Gunnarsson waved at the guardsman and said, "Sit, man, and let the doctor look at that leg."

"_What a mess,"_ Eric thought. Watching as the doctor began to work on the wounded guard, he noticed that the Gendarme officer was still waiting for orders.

"What can I do, Captain?" asked the Gendarme as Eric walked over to him.

"There was a gunman on one of the rooftops across the harbor. Come with me," and he gestured for the man to follow him outside.

"See that house?" Eric pointed to a particular building. "I thought I saw a plume of gun smoke when we were shot at. I could be wrong, but turn out your entire guard to search this town for anything or anyone suspicious. It's unusual for anyone to be carrying a gun in town; maybe someone noticed, or heard the gunshot. Send your men to search the roof-tops there in particular. I'll be returning Her Majesty to the castle as quickly as we can arrange it safely. Bring your report to me there."

The Gendarme officer nodded and moved off to join a group of his men that were waiting for him a few yards away. He gave them their orders, then watched them scatter to begin the search. Several ran down to the docks for a boat; it would be quicker to row across the harbor than to walk or ride around the entire periphery.

Gunnarsson had returned to the shop. The physician was finishing up bandaging the wounded guard's leg, and Elsa had apparently completed her ministrations on Anna, as she was now sitting on a chair again and accepting a cup of tea from the shopkeeper. Anna was already sipping hers.

"Captain? Now what?" Elsa asked. Her hand shook enough that the tea sloshed and a bit spilled onto her lap.

"Now, Your Majesty, we wait for more men, and your carriage. I would prefer that you not walk back to the castle, exposed to another attempt," Eric responded.

Elsa nodded, then managed to drink some of her tea without spilling it.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Anna had been examined by the Royal Physician when they returned to the castle. He had cleaned her cuts with alcohol to reduce the chance of infection, but they had been shallow enough that he hadn't bandaged them. She looked at Elsa with a worried frown. Her sister's face was a grim mask. Worse, she hadn't said anything on the trip back to the castle or while Anna was being taken care of. It was always a bad sign when Elsa withdrew like that.

Now they were all sitting around the conference table in the Royal Council Chamber: Elsa, Anna, Gunnarsson, the Admiral, Colonel Nordholm and the Gendarme Captain. Elsa rapped on the table to get everyone's attention.

"Captain? Admiral? Would you like to report the current status? I realize it had only been a few hours since the … attack, so you may not have much to tell."

Naismith nodded at the Gendarme Captain, who stood and began, "Your Majesty, when we closely examined the scar made by the bullet on the pavement and then found where the remnants embedded themselves in the house front, we were able to approximate where the assassin had fired from across the harbor. We searched – "

Anna interrupted him. "Isn't that a pretty long distance for someone to shoot at us?"

Nordholm answered her. "For a standard infantry musket, yes, Your Highness. For a specialty rifle, purpose-built for a murderous assassin, it is just feasible. Several rifles designed at the turn of the century could be used as the basis for such a weapon." Anna nodded grimly.

Naismith gestured at the Gendarme Captain to continue.

"As I was saying, we searched the entire town, particularly the rooftop pointed out by Captain Gunnarsson. The snow was disturbed and it was clear that someone had been on that roof. The footprints in the snow led to a drainpipe into a small courtyard that had a gate to an alley. No one we talked to in the area had seen or heard anything suspicious. Or any**one** suspicious. No ships have docked in the last several days, and the inns report that no one has taken any rooms more recently than two weeks ago. We will be checking the papers of their guests, but it will take at least until tomorrow before we can cover everyone. We set up checkpoints at the borders and so far no one has tried to leave town."

Anna said, "So, you have no leads, nothing to tell us who tried to kill Elsa?" She glanced down to where Elsa had her hands clenched in her lap; they were shaking, but that was invisible to anyone else at the table. Anna was the only one close enough to have those hands in sight.

"No, Your Highness. Not yet, although we have many more people to question," replied Naismith. "Assuming that Her Majesty was in fact the target." He looked ill at ease when he spoke those words.

Elsa's head snapped up and she glared at him. "What do you mean?" she hissed. "Who else could be the target?"

Naismith hated, hated having to point out the obvious, but he knew she would never come to that conclusion herself. "They may have been targeting the Princess Anna, Your Majesty."

Anna gasped. That had never occurred to her, either. She glanced at her sister, whose body was so tense it was quivering. Anna felt a chill in the air, but didn't notice any icy frost on the table or the chair Elsa was sitting in. She couldn't see the floor, however, and there might be ice there. Elsa's jaw was clenched so tightly Anna could swear she could hear her teeth grinding. She reached out and took Elsa's hand. It was only then she felt her tension ease slightly.

"What makes you think that, Admiral?" Elsa managed to force out the words.

"I have nothing conclusive that indicates who that bullet was meant for, Your Majesty," he replied. "Unfortunately, because of your proximity to each other, either or both of you could have been the target. I am trying to keep an open mind, so as not to focus on avenues of inquiry that could be a dead-end. We have many more leads to follow, however slender a thread they may be."

"Who would want to kill me? To kill either of us?" Anna demanded.

Elsa's shoulders slumped, and she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose with the hand Anna wasn't holding. "It's actually a long list, Anna. It could be the Duke, trying for subtlety this time. Disgruntled citizens of Arendelle who were harmed by the Winter and haven't forgiven me. Some kingdom who thinks I'm an abomination. Or a threat. If I'm dead, no more threat." She dropped her hand back into her lap and looked at the Admiral. "Did I miss anyone?"

His face was set in grim lines. "You didn't mention the Southern Isles."

"The Southern Isles?" Anna blurted. "Why THEM? That … that PRINCE tried to kill us! And we sent him back there for them to punish, and the last diplomatic dispatch we got from them said he had died in prison!"

"All true, Your Highness. But it is because of that death that perhaps some one of his friends, or even his family, decided to take revenge. On you. I doubt that it would be sanctioned by the King or the government, they seemed genuinely horrified and contrite about Ha … his crimes. But that does not rule out a private action."

Elsa was exhausted. She needed sleep, if sleep would come. She hadn't slept well since Christmas. She needed to end this meeting and go to her room and pull the blankets over her head and just pretend that … that … she wasn't sure what she wanted to pretend. That she wasn't the Queen, perhaps, that this whole mess was someone else's problem, someone else's fault.

"Admiral, is there anything else? It seems we have exhausted the list of things we know and are well into the list of things we don't know, which is infinite," Elsa said.

"I agree, Your Majesty. I suggest we revisit this in one week at the regular meeting with Colonel Nordholm and his staff. In the meantime, perhaps it would be best if you and Princess Anna remained somewhat secluded, out of the public eye."

"We will see. I am reluctant to cower in this palace and hide from my people … again. Thank you all, you may go." Elsa dismissed them and sat serenely until the room had emptied except for Anna. Then she rubbed her temples and sighed as she slouched in her chair.

"Elsa? Are you okay?" Anna's concern was touching.

"I'm fine, I'm not the one with scrapes on her legs. Are YOU okay?" Elsa responded.

"Phft. Skinned knees are nothing," Anna brushed off her sister's question.

"And if you hadn't tripped, we might both be – " Elsa didn't finish the sentence as Anna put a finger to her lips to shush her.

"But we aren't. They missed, whoever 'they' are. Now, let's go get dinner, please? And forget this horrid day."

Elsa shook her head slowly. "You go. I have no appetite. I have a headache. I don't think I can sleep. I'd drink myself into oblivion if I thought that would help."

Anna looked at her quizzically. "Have you ever tried that?" She had never seen Elsa drink anything except a glass of wine with meals or perhaps a glass of champagne at formal celebrations.

Her sister gave her a crooked smile. "No. Before the coronation, the last thing I could afford was indulging in anything that would make me lose control of my powers. So I never got into strong drink. And **since** the coronation I haven't felt the need to acquire the habit. But I hear it comes up a lot nastier than it goes down, so I think I'll continue to abstain." She rose to leave the room and Anna followed her.

"Go, eat. I wish I had your resilience. I'm going to bed after asking Gerda to brew some willow bark tea. Can I ask a favor, though ?" Elsa looked at her sister shyly.

"Anything, you know that."

"Come to my room tonight. I can already tell it's going to be a bad one, and you being there will help."

Anna wrapped her in a quick hug. "I'll come right after dinner. We can do each other's hair and pretend this horrid day never happened. I'll even dip into my secret stash and share some of those chocolate cordials I found last week in town."

"Thank you. Between you and the chocolate, I may even be able to sleep for a change."

Later, after a few chocolates and some soothing tea, Elsa lay awake after Anna had fallen into sleep. They had talked about happier times to distract both of them from the horrible day. As she buried her face in Anna's shoulder, Elsa wished yet again that she had as much resilience as her sister. It wasn't that Anna felt things less intensely than Elsa. Quite the opposite, in fact. But for whatever reason, the younger sibling seemed to be able to bounce back from a bad experience more quickly than the elder.

Finally dropping off to sleep, Elsa began to dream. **_She was on a ship, she was using her magic. She was the Snow Queen in all her power and majesty, and she felt the exhilaration of using that power, just like she had the first time as she built her Ice Palace._**

The dream tableau shifted. ** _Elsa was standing in front of a cheering crowd, a mass of people chanting her name. Everyone idolized her, worshiped her fell beauty. She drank in the adoration like a fine wine and it intoxicated her. She let the euphoria wash over her._**

The setting changed again._**Now she was in her Throne Room, someone in chains kneeling before her in abject misery, their head bowed and their face hidden. "Take them away and execute them!" Elsa heard her own voice pass a sentence of death on the prisoner.** _

**_A guard pulled the victim to their feet and Elsa saw their face. It was Anna's face, looking at her with tears in her eyes. "Elsa, how can you condemn me like this?" dream-Anna sobbed._**

"NO!" Elsa gasped as she sat up, the dream wisping away as she became aware of the real world again. She was in bed, with Anna, not in her Throne Room.

"Elsa?" Anna mumbled sleepily, reaching behind her to touch Elsa's hand.

Shaking, Elsa lay back down and embraced her sister. "I'm here, Anna, I'm okay," she whispered.

But she was not okay. What was wrong with her?

Sleep didn't come again that night.


	11. The Plot Thickens

**Chapter 11 – The Plot Thickens**

"_Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat."_  
**― F. Scott Fitzgerald **

"_The road to hell is paved with careful planning."_**  
― Marty Rubin **

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Jón Grár was idly sipping his coffee when five members of the Arendelle Gendarmerie strode into the cafe. Two of them blocked the door from the street and the one leading out the back, and the officer rapped on the countertop to get everyone's attention.

"I regret the need to interrupt your afternoon, good people. But we are searching for a murderer and need your help. My men will be interviewing each of you in hopes that you may have seen someone or something out of the ordinary that will aid us in tracking down this criminal. Please remain seated as we call you into the back room to consult with you."

Two of the Gendarmes remained watchful in the cafe as the officer waved at the cafe owner and the waiter to follow him into the back. It was a matter of a few moments before they returned and resumed taking orders and serving their customers while a steady stream of men and a few women were called by the Gendarme into the small office.

"_So, they are looking for a murderer, are they?" _mused Grár. _"I would think that is one term that could be used to describe the assassin who tried to kill their Queen. It seems they don't want to spread the news about that yet. Clever. Most of the good burghers of this rustic kingdom would be eager to help track down a murderer."_

When it was Grár's turn, he picked his portfolio up from the chair next to him and walked into the room where the officer was sitting at what was clearly the cafe owner's desk, littered with papers. The officer had cleared a small space for his notebook, where he had apparently been writing down the names of those he was interviewing, and their answers to his questions.

"Please, sit, my good man. May I ask your name and business?" The Gendarme's pencil was poised to write down the information.

"My name is Johannes Grau, sir, I am a solicitor who specializes in financing of new enterprises in this part of Northern Europe," replied Grár, with an easy smile. "If I may ask, are we in any danger from this fugitive you are seeking?"

"No, Herr Grau. We believe that he has left the city. That is why we are searching for any clues as to where he may have gone. Now, are you a citizen of Arendelle?"

"No, indeed. I spend most of my time traveling between various kingdoms seeking business opportunities, but I am a citizen of Hansestadt Lübeck_," _stated Grau/Grár.

"And how long have you been in Arendelle, Herr Grau? And may I see your papers?"

"I arrived two weeks ago. There are several new enterprises being set up to take advantage of the … disagreement between Arendelle and Weselton, and I have been working with Monsieur Robin Pierre to set up the business charters and partnerships that he is leading. Prior to this most recent business, he and I worked together to import marzipan from Lübeck."

'Grau' fumbled with his portfolio and pulled out several papers, which he laid in front of the Gendarme. "There are my bona fides and my letters of introduction to Monsieur Pierre. I believe he has been doing business in your fair kingdom for several years." He sat back comfortably as the Gendarme examined the documents closely.

"And where are you residing while you are here?" asked the Gendarme.

"I have taken a room in the most hospitable inn next door. It is convenient to those business offices of Monsieur Pierre and sets a very nice table. Not to mention its proximity to this cafe. Business meetings are often conducted over coffee or tea, are they not?"

"Where were you around one this afternoon and how long were you here in this cafe?"

"I arrived about half an hour ago. I had meetings with Monsieur Pierre all morning until about two, after which I returned to my room to freshen up and have a late lunch, then came here for coffee. You may verify that with Monsieur Pierre and the innkeeper if you care to."

The Gendarme wrote all this information down, copying names and addresses from the papers 'Grau' had shared with him. Pushing them back across the desk, he said, "I will, Herr Grau. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, but … duty." A shrug, then the Gendarme waved dismissal at Grau. "Thank you, you may go."

'Grau' nodded, picked up his portfolio and returned to the cafe. Ordering another coffee and a krumcake, he sipped and read through some papers for another half hour before he took his leave to return to his inn.

As he walked the short distance to the inn he noticed many Gendarmes patrolling the streets and going from door to door. He suppressed a smirk, maintaining the dull demeanor of the mid-level bureaucrat his cover made him out to be. Dull and bland and blending in was his salvation. He made an art out of being unremarkable.

Every word that he had spoken to the Gendarme was true. Except for where he had spent the morning and early afternoon. His alibi was solid; Pierre would swear on a stack of holy books that they had been engaged in business negotiations behind closed doors as he had said. They had worked together before.

In reality, Jón Grár had spent hours lying concealed in the snow on a rooftop across the harbor from the castle with a clear view of the castle gates and the marketplace. Dressed in a thick suit of white wool that covered him from head to toe, he was almost invisible as long as he did not move very much. He was practiced in lying in ambush. His rifle was painted white as well. It was a specialty item, custom build for him by a gunsmith he could trust. A gunsmith hundreds of miles away from Arendelle. It was designed for extreme accuracy up to three hundred yards, fitted with a telescope to aid in zeroing in on his target. The barrel could be quickly detached from the stock so that it could be carried under a coat inconspicuously.

He had read the Queen's schedule in the local paper; it was the day of her monthly visit to the people of Arendelle. He had positioned himself several hours in advance, as it took careful planning to get to the roof without being seen. His escape route had been planned so that he could slide down the drainpipe to the courtyard.

There he removed the white woolen overalls to reveal rough work clothes like any common laborer might wear. Stuffing the rolled up overalls and the disassembled rifle into a small wheeled cart such as used by peddlers, he casually left the courtyard to stroll nonchalantly to a street that would take him past the back of the inn where he was staying.

This all took less time than it took Captain Gunnarsson to get Elsa and Anna into the shop out of sight, then send for the Gendarmerie to start a search. By the time the Gendarme captain had gathered his men, given them their orders and sent them out looking, Grár had pulled his wheeled cart into one of Pierre's warehouses, the one where his office was. Once there, he quickly changed out of the peddler's clothing and into his normal business suit, including a long cashmere overcoat with special pockets designed to hold his disassembled rifle.

He pushed the cart with the discarded clothes into a storeroom where Pierre would see to their disposal, then left the warehouse for the short stroll to the inn where he had rented a room. He greeted the innkeeper and asked if there had been any messages for him. The Gendarmes had not yet begun their search. This inn faced another street, not the city square and marketplace across the harbor, so there had been no indication of the drama playing out there. It would take some time for them to get to this part of the town thanks to the hilly terrain.

"No messages, Herr Grau. Would you like lunch sent to your room?" 'Johannes Grau' was known as a generous tipper, and the innkeeper liked to keep such customers happy.

"Yes, please. It was a long meeting and we skipped eating. A quick lunch, then maybe I'll take some coffee later next door. Thank you." Grár nodded genially at the innkeeper as he walked to the stairs leading to his room.

Once in the room, he hid the rifle in the false bottom of one of his suitcases, then washed up for lunch.

When the waiter brought his lunch to the room, he thanked him effusively and gave him a good sized tip, then tucked into his meal.

_"Damn the luck of that woman. It will be harder to take a second shot at her now. They probably won't let her out of the castle for weeks."_ He scowled as he finally let down his mask of banality. He would have to think about what to do next. He had no intentions of returning the Duke's money. Not out of greed – out of pride. He had never failed in a commission, and he was determined that this would not be the first.

He just wasn't sure if he could accomplish it before the Snow Queen sailed off to Weselton and made his deal with the Duke moot. An icy statue would have no interest in a bank account, after all.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The next morning dawned cold and clear again. It was unusual to have two sunny days in a row in January. Grár's breath made a white plume as he hurried to walk from his inn to the business office of Monsieur Rob S. Pierre. They had more 'business' to conduct today.

He noticed that there still seemed to be more Gendarmes on the streets of Arendelle than usual. The Gendarmes spent most of their time breaking up bar fights in the taverns near the docks. Real crime was rare. The kingdom was practically a dictionary entry for the words 'dull', 'peaceful', and 'boring'. That is, it had been until the past July. Now it seemed like the term 'dull' would never be applied to Arendelle again.

Grár entered the building that housed Pierre's business headquarters. He passed his hat and coat to a servant, and was ushered into Pierre's office.

"Good morning, Rob. How are you this fine day?" Grár would stick to trivial small talk until the servant had finished bringing them coffee.

"Quite well, my friend. And you?" Pierre could out-bland him it seemed.

They accepted their beverages and thanked the servant, who left a carafe on the sideboard and closed the door behind him. The change in atmosphere was palpable.

"So," Pierre began, "It seems that you are losing your touch, mon ami." Pierre sipped at his coffee with a sour look on his face. He hated Elsa of Arendelle, although **his** hatred was rather more impersonal than that of the Duke. He hated all royalty and the noble classes of any sort, a hatred that was born in the Reign of Terror when the uprising against the monarchy of France was betrayed and the common people were put back under the yoke. Pierre had lost his father during that uprising, and had sworn that he would bring death to all royalty until he drew his last breath.

"Luck, my friend, pure luck. Just as I pulled the trigger for a perfect shot that would have taken down both of them, the Princess tripped and pulled the Queen down with her," Grár waved his hand in dismissal.

Pierre frowned. "The Gendarmes were here asking about our meeting yesterday. Of course, I assured them that we were busy until well after the time the Queen was attacked. And that we have done business before, so that you are not a newcomer to Arendelle."

"Thank you. Our partnership has been productive for both of us over the years."

"Bah. Now what? Will you try again?"

"I certainly have no intentions of returning the Duke's money, but another opportunity before they sail to Weselton is unlikely. I doubt she will be making any public appearances for a few weeks, at least. Certainly none that will be announced beforehand."

"And after she returns, it is unlikely that the Duke will care much about anything at all, much less money."

"Do you really think she'll kill him?" Grár asked.

"She has no reason to leave him alive. He deserves whatever she chooses to do in revenge for that attack," shrugged Pierre. To him, the Duke was just another member of the nobility that preyed upon the common people. Whether he lived or died meant nothing, although dying was preferred.

"That would raise three kinds of hell with other kingdoms. Reigning monarchs don't usually get their hands dirty with the blood of their peers," pointed out Grár.

Another shrug was Pierre's only response. Elsa's diplomatic problems were less than nothing to him.

"Let us continue with our business, then, Grau. The best cover for funny business is real business, is it not?" Pierre pulled out some papers from his desk and they continued to plan the new manufacturing enterprise.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The servant returned at noon to announce that Baron Bjorn Thorstad had arrived for his luncheon appointment, and would it please Monsieur Pierre to receive him?

"By all means, please escort him in," replied Pierre. He began to tidy up the papers he and Grau had been reviewing.

Baron Thorstad entered, still in his woolen coat, his hat and gloves tucked under his arm. "Good day, Rob, Johan. Are we ready for lunch?"

"Indeed, Bjorn, and it is good to see you again." Grau rose and extended a hand to Thorstad in greeting. "We have been hard at work since the early morning, and a good meal is just the thing. Where shall we dine? Next door, or do you have something else in mind?"

"Next door is fine. The next best dining room is across the harbor, and it is too cold to hire a boat and too far to walk."

Grau and Pierre accepted their wraps from the servant and the three men walked next door to the small cafe for lunch.

Once they had hung up their coats and settled into seats around a table, the waiter was quick to appear. Their clothing marked them as prosperous men of means, and the waiter would work eagerly to earn a good tip. They ordered beverages and the meal, then Pierre spoke to Thorstad.

"Well, mon ami, I understand there was quite the excitement yesterday, non? How is the Queen?" Pierre inquired of the Baron. As a member of Elsa's Royal Council of Advisers, Thorstad would often hear of things that were not common gossip or items for the Arendelle newspaper.

Thorstad looked grim. "We almost lost both of them. By some miracle, the Princess had tripped and pulled the Queen down with her just as the bullet passed through the space that they had occupied. Naismith's analysts are sure it would have killed them both."

Grau reacted to this as any concerned citizen would, even though he was not of Arendelle descent. "That is indeed fortunate, my friend. Let us offer thanks that your Queen is apparently blessed with excellent luck." Inside, he seethed, _"And my luck couldn't be worse."_

Sipping his coffee, Pierre nodded in agreement. "Indeed good luck. And what vile coward is behind this attack, do you think, Bjorn? Does your Admiral have any leads?"

Shaking his head ruefully, Thorstad admitted, "No, not yet. Whoever this assassin is, they are subtle and skilled. There is no hint of anyone trying to flee the kingdom. And no one from outside the kingdom has arrived in the last two weeks."

Pierre shrugged and suggested, "Does that not indicate that it most likely is some local disgruntled soul who carries some deep grudge against the Queen?"

"If nothing else turns up, that would be what must be assumed. However, if nothing else, the weapon used is not something that would be in the hands of any ordinary citizen; it clearly was a special design to be accurate at the distance used, according to Colonel Nordholm," Thorstad answered.

Their waiter arrived and placed their luncheon plates in front of them, inquired whether they needed refills on their drinks, and left them to enjoy the meal.

Pierre offered a toast. "Vive la reine, mes amis. Long may she reign in good health."

"Long live the Queen," responded his companions.

Of course, only one of the three men was sincere.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Author's Note:

It so happens that Hansestadt Lübeck is a great place for 'Johannes Grau' to be a citizen. Lübeck's location makes it a trading port, and it was the capital of the Hanseatic League. One thing Lübeck is known for is marzipan, which is very popular in Arendelle. So he's been working with Pierre to import it, along with all those liquors and cordials and such like.

The **Hanseatic League** was a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and their market towns that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe. I've actually been to Lübeck, it's a beautiful city.


	12. Sailing to Weselton

**Chapter 12 – Sailing to Weselton**

**Late January 1841 – Aboard the Royal Arendelle Navy flagship _King Agdar_**

"_At this hour  
Lie at my mercy all mine enemies." _  
― William Shakespeare, _The Tempest _

"_Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver."_  
― Barbara De Angelis

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

There was no crowd to see them off as the fleet set sail to Weselton. There had been no announcements, the Admiral intended to keep it secret as long as possible. Only one ship was left at the dock. Others had sailed over the last few days as though on normal patrol. They would rendezvous at sea, then proceed as a fleet to visit the Duke.

It was still dark, the early morning tide an hour before dawn. The sky was overcast, a blustery wind was blowing, and there was a sharp, stinging sleet falling. Whitecaps dotted the fjord, and even in the sheltered harbor the water was choppy. This ship, the flagship _King Agdar_, would carry Admiral Naismith, his staff and the Queen.

Kristoff stood by in silence as Anna said goodbye to her sister. Anna was not a morning person, but Kristoff didn't think she had slept at all last night, so it didn't really count as morning, did it?

"Elsa, be careful, come back to me, I don't know what I'd do if something happened … " Anna was trying very hard not to cry, she didn't want to add to her sister's stress. She could tell from Elsa's rigid carriage that she was far into her 'conceal, don't feel' mode.

Elsa hugged Anna and murmured, "You'll be fi … " She didn't finish the sentence. "I'll be careful, Anna, please don't worry. I mean, I know you'll worry, but just don't do too much of it ..."

Anna smiled as her older sister rambled in a very Anna-like way. She reached up and put a gentle finger on Elsa's lips. "Shh. I get it. Just be sure to send us updates. You know me and the Council will be counting the minutes until you get back."

This brought a wry chuckle from Elsa. Anna would be acting as Regent again for the time Elsa would be gone. The Royal Council had already experienced the younger sister's style and fervently wished for Elsa to live a long and healthy life. Anna's only real ally on the Council would be Bishop Nordgaard, since the Admiral was sailing with Elsa. The other five members were indifferent at best and skeptical of Anna's skills at worst. None of them were stupid enough to show their feelings, but Anna's intuition gave her some hints, and Elsa could read them like open books.

"We will." Elsa looked over to Kristoff, "You two behave yourselves, understand? No scandals!" She was teasing. They had demonstrated all the restraint and discretion Elsa could ask from them.

"I will, Your Majesty," the Ice Harvester said. Elsa smiled; although Kristoff had her permission to use her name, he was careful to maintain a more formal demeanor when they were in public.

The two sisters exchanged one last hug, then Elsa boarded the ship. Anna stood at Kristoff's side and reached for his hand. They watched as the ship cast off, set sail, and left the harbor.

"Let's head back to the castle, Feisty Pants. It's cold and damp out here, and I don't want you catching a cold or worse," Kristoff cajoled Anna once the little fleet was out of sight. "Time for some hot breakfast, then maybe you can take a nap or something; I can tell you didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"I won't be getting much sleep until she gets back, Kristoff. I'll be worrying every second, visualizing the worst; it's winter, there's storms, there's the Weasel navy, a stray cannon ball, the Duke could have some nasty surprise waiting even if he's a pusillanimous bastard … " Anna was rambling now.

"Hey, don't worry about her. She's surrounded by the entire Arendelle Royal Navy, she has her magic, and it will be less than three weeks until she gets back."

"Yeah, and they said my parents would be back in two weeks. And the weather is much worse this time of year. And ..."

Kristoff turned her to face him and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Hey, all of that is true, and worrying yourself sick isn't going to change any of it. Please, Anna. Don't borrow trouble. She's counting on you to take care of this place while she's gone, and that's enough worry for anyone. Okay?"

Anna could never resist him when he got **That Look** in his eyes. The one that said, _"I love you and I'm never letting you go, and I'll be there to catch you if you fall."_ The one that made her go weak-kneed and put that funny little twinge in her middle.

"Okay. But if you're going to do this whole Prince Kristoff thing, you're sitting through the damn trade review with me, you hear? Besides, as head of the Ice Guild you should know some of this stuff, and you can slip me notes under the table when I get confused."

"Deal. Now, let's go get breakfast. At least one of us is starving."

Her tummy chose that moment to let out a growl, identifying which one of them it was. Kristoff laughed, took her hand, and turned to walk back to the castle. Anna's guard detail surrounded them, eyes watchful, weapons ready to fend off anyone who might want to harm her.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The first two days of the voyage to Weselton had been miserable for Elsa. She had known better than to eat anything before boarding ship and until this morning hadn't had anything except cold tea since.

It was dangerous to have a cooking fire on board a ship when the seas were so rough, but the sailors were used to hardtack and smoked meat and cheese. Fortunately, the sailing time to Weselton was short; there would be no need to aggressively conserve drinking water, and all the supplies had been fresh when loaded to provision the expedition.

The Admiral, Captain Andreas Halvorsen, Eric Gunnarsson and Colonel Nordholm were on the quarterdeck when Elsa came up from her cabin. She was paler than usual, it was actually possible to see her freckles, but she seemed to have found her sea legs at last. Captain Halvorsen's steward had provided her with some milk and bread to break her fast, and so far her stomach had not rebelled. The sky was overcast, with scudding dark clouds moving in front of a strong bitter wind. The ship rolled and heeled as it skipped over the white-capped waves.

The men came to attention and saluted and Elsa acknowledged them with a curt nod.

"Gentlemen, how is our progress?" she asked.

Halvorsen replied, "We are making excellent time, Your Majesty. The winds are favorable and we should arrive in the late afternoon of the day after tomorrow. However, it would probably be better for us to delay our actual entrance into the Weselton harbor until the following morning for full effect. The tides would be favorable for our arrival around ten in the morning."

She considered this, then nodded once again. "I will certainly defer to your judgement, Captain. Arriving during daylight would have the greatest impact on the populace."

"How are you feeling, Your Majesty?" inquired Nordholm.

"Much better, Colonel. I believe I may actually be able to join you for dinner tonight." She had remained miserable in her tiny cabin the first two evenings at sea.

As the flagship, the _Agdar_ was larger than average, primarily to allow extra room for the Admiral's cabin and one for his chief of staff. Protocol would call for Elsa to be given the most luxurious quarters, if anything could be called 'luxurious' aboard a wooden ship bobbing around on the northern seas, but she had refused. The Admiral's cabin also served as a conference room, and she felt the necessity of their planning sessions overrode protocol. She took the cabin that would normally be occupied by Colonel Nordholm, who then doubled up with Captain Halvorsen.

None of the cabins could be called large, but Elsa was content with a room that wasn't much larger than the bunk, with just enough room for a washstand, side table and chair. She had also refused to bring along any maidservants, as she had more than enough experience taking care of herself growing up in isolation. It wasn't a very long voyage in any case.

"Let us take dinner now, then, Your Majesty. The seas have moderated enough that the cook promises us something hot tonight, if not as elaborate as may be found in your castle," Captain Halvorsen said. "I believe he has something special for dessert as well. Your sister provided a sealed tin just before we sailed."

"Really? Anna didn't tell me anything about that," replied Elsa.

"She said something about a surprise and threatened bodily harm if we let you know," Halvorsen explained. "I felt it prudent to follow her instructions. It is too cold to find myself knocked over the side into the fjord."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Three days later the Arendelle fleet sailed into the Weselton Harbor on the morning tide. Several of her ships remained on patrol outside the protective seawall.

Elsa stood in the bow of the _Agdar_, dressed as the imposing Snow Queen. This version of her dress had a high collar and long sleeves and was a much darker blue than the dress she had created at the Ice Palace. A white cape billowed in the wind, her golden crown glinted in the weak winter sunlight.

The flagship reefed most of her sails and glided in to dock. The other three ships positioned themselves close to shore, spread out to cover all approaches should the Weselton forces choose to fight.

Elsa raised her hands and swept them in an expansive gesture. The entire harbor froze over, locking every ship in it into immobility, including her own fleet. But they didn't need mobility for their plan.

Elsa made another gesture at two Weselton navy ships docked at the quay. They became encased in ice up to and covering the gunports, the cannons that could be seen protruding from them weren't going to be useful any time soon, now being plugged with ice. Since the sailors manning those ships had run down their gangplanks and disappeared into town at the first sight of the Arendelle Navy, it hardly mattered. It seemed that the Duke's propaganda about the evil Ice Witch had indeed caused his own forces to lose courage and desert their posts. Not precisely what he had intended his stories of her evil power to accomplish, but the less resistance the better. Elsa wanted this invasion to be as bloodless as possible.

There were sailors with telescopes in the crows' nests of Elsa's ships, looking for any signs of resistance or an attacking force of Weselton troops. The Duke's miserly ways had left the port almost undefended. There were no aggressive enemy nations nearby to attack him and he relied on the navies of Arendelle, Corona, and his other neighbors to prevent piracy from eating into his profits too much. His land army consisted of his own household troops, a rather larger than average force due to the unrest within the population. There was a hypothetical militia that could be called up in defense of the duchy, but that would cost money. He had called them up briefly last fall, when he expected Elsa to come looking for revenge. When nothing happened after a month, he sent them back to their ordinary endeavors rather than pay them for doing nothing.

"Your Majesty, our lookouts don't see any troops gathering to oppose us. I suspect the Duke has called them to his defense at his Ducal Palace. I propose we take the next step in our plan, debark our Marines and march on the palace to confront the Duke."

"Very well, Admiral," agreed Elsa.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

As the Arendelle force marched through the streets of Weselton, Eric and the rest of the Queen's Own surrounding Elsa watched the few people on the street with stern attention. It was clear that the invasion had convinced most of the populace to hide away in their homes, or to leave town entirely. When armies marched, the common people knew that it was smart to be elsewhere.

Elsa focused on the street leading to the Ducal Palace. She marched with fierce intent, looking ahead to confronting the Duke in his own lair. Her stride was confident, her fists clenched with anger, her face a mask of determined resolve.

There was a sudden movement between two houses and a small figure darted into the street, ducking between two guardsmen and running in front of Elsa, forcing her to stop suddenly or run the tiny body over. She put her hands out in a defensive gesture against the threat … of a small child staring up at her wide-eyed with awe.

Elsa clenched her fists and reined in her magic. She was horrified that she had almost struck the child down!

"Snow Queen!" the child reached up with two grubby hands. "Do the magic!" she giggled.

A flashback to another child saying those same words almost caused Elsa to faint. She shook her head to clear it and stared at the child bouncing in front of her. The little girl couldn't be more than three, clad in a rather shabby dress, coat and scuffed shoes. She danced from one foot to the other, continuing to chant, "Magic, Snow Queen, magic!"

There was a scuffle going on at the periphery of Elsa's vision. She turned to look. One of her guards was struggling with a woman who was screaming, "Don't hurt my child, you monster!"

"_It must be the little girl's mother,"_ Elsa thought. "Captain, let her go," she ordered.

"Your Majesty, she could be dangerous to you!" protested Eric. The woman continued to try to free herself from the arms of the guard holding her back, kicking and scratching.

"I don't think so." Elsa stooped to kneel so that she was at the same eye level as the child, then reached out a hand, palm up, and created a small fountain of snowflakes for the little girl.

She was rewarded with a wide-eyed "Oooooh! Magic, Snow Queen, magic!" Elsa couldn't help but smile in return.

The little girl's mother stopped struggling, stunned by this display of … gentleness on Elsa's part. Where was the monster the Duke had warned them about? Eric nodded at the guard holding the woman and he let her go, but stayed close to her, keeping a wary eye on her as she slowly approached Elsa and knelt behind her daughter.

Elsa continued to create little snowflakes for the girl, then cupped her other hand over the one extended, then opened them to show a small figurine of a snowman. She held it out for the little girl, who immediately took it and showed it to her mother. "Look, mama, Snow Queen made me a snowman!"

The mother wrapped her arms protectively around the child while looking at Elsa with an odd expression on her face. Elsa could imagine the thoughts whirling through the woman's mind, the conflict between the image of an evil witch painted by the Duke contrasting with the reality in front of her.

"Is this your daughter?" Elsa asked softly, rising from her kneeling position. The woman rose also, still holding her child close to her skirts.

"Y … yes," was the shaky reply. She clutched her child a little tighter, her hands visibly shaking.

"I do not hurt children. Your daughter was in no danger from me," Elsa said, her voice still soft.

"That's not what the Duke told us!" the woman was a little defiant, her fear showing as anger.

"Did he tell you what he had done to me? To my sister? To my kingdom?" Elsa kept her voice level and unthreatening so as not to frighten the child. She continued to make small flurries to the delight of the little girl, who squirmed out of her mother's arms to reach out and dance in merriment at the swirling flakes, trying to catch them on her tongue.

"No. No, he didn't, he just told us how you froze your own kingdom, and how you would come looking for revenge because of some slight he offered you," was the slow reply. The mother was still wary of Elsa, but couldn't help but begin to share the awe of the little girl, so innocent of anything except the joy of seeing Elsa make snowflakes and snowmen.

"Apparently your daughter misunderstood the message," Elsa said, as snowflakes flurried down to the continued laughter of the child.

"She's too young to understand anything more than 'magic snow'. We don't get much snow here, and she loves it when it comes. And to a child, 'magic' is the tricks peddlers do in the marketplace, not evil curses." The woman's expression softened as she watched her baby dance and giggle at Elsa's snowflakes.

As they stood there taking each others measure, Elsa noticed the shabbiness of the mother's clothing and shoes. Looking around, she could tell that the houses lining the street were rundown and dilapidated. Elsa knew that every town had poorer sections, but they were almost to the Duke's palace. There should be more prosperity showing, shouldn't there?

Elsa was now worried about their plan to crush the Duke's business interests. If these people were on the ragged edge of surviving, destroying the economy of Weselton would hurt them far worse than it would hurt the Duke. It was a thought that dismayed Elsa. There were more ways to kill people than with bullets and cannonballs. Starvation was just as effective, albeit slower. So much for limiting collateral damage; she could kill thousands without firing a shot or creating an icicle.

Shaking her head, she looked down at the little girl, holding on to the snowman and still giggling at the snow flurry. With a gesture, Elsa swept the snow into the ether, which caused the child to pout and go, "Awww. Want more snow!"

"Little one, I can't do more right now. I hope you like the little snowman. But I must go. Your mother wants to take you home, go with her and be safe."

The woman nodded at Elsa with grudging respect, then took her daughter's hand and walked away without a backward glance. The little girl did look back, waving the hand still clutching the little snowman and calling out, "Bye, bye, Snow Queen!"

Throughout all of this, Elsa's guard had been watching their surroundings with diligence. The Marine column with them had remained in ranks at attention while the entire scene played out. Colonel Nordholm and Admiral Naismith had been on horseback leading the formation, while Elsa and her Queen's Own were on foot. The Admiral kneed his mount forward now and asked, "Your Majesty? Shall we continue on to see the Duke?"

"Yes, Admiral. I suspect he is wondering what's keeping us." With that, Elsa resumed the march to the Ducal Palace, followed by her guard and the rest of the troops.

As they marched down the street and the sound of their boots faded, a stealthy figure drew back from where it had observed the entire scene with the Snow Queen and the child. Slipping into the shadows of an alley between the houses, he ran quickly to parallel the line of march of the Arendelle troops heading for their confrontation with the Duke.

As he ran he reflected on what he had just seen …_ "So the actuality of the Snow Queen of Arendelle is quite different from the fairy tales the Duke has been telling us, hmm? This has the makings of a very interesting meeting."_

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x


	13. Confronting the Duke

**Chapter 13 – Confronting the Duke**

"_When you have an enemy in your power, deprive him of the means of ever injuring you." _  
**― Napoléon Bonaparte **

"_The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."_

– **Sun Tzu**

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The Duke of Weselton paced in his study. Messengers had come to the Ducal Palace with news of the approaching Arendelle fleet. Updates came every few minutes as Elsa and her forces debarked from their ship, formed up on the docks, and began their march on his palace. He fumed when he heard that the crews of the ships had fled without fighting. His military advisers stood around a map table, arguing about the best way to fend off Elsa when she arrived. Consensus did not seem to be achievable.

"Your Grace! They are only a few blocks from here! You should take the escape route we set up for you!" The captain of his bodyguard kept casting nervous glances at the doorway, as though he expected Elsa to come through the door and freeze all of them into statues that instant.

"No! It's bad enough that most of the navy chose to desert their posts. Let her come. She's weak, a squeamish woman, not likely to shed blood unless we force her to. Position the guards at all the gates, but for defensive purposes only." barked the Duke. He stalked over to the map table and pointed at one of his generals. "You! Send a messenger with a white flag to the Ice Queen. Tell her we wish a parley, in front of the palace. We will not attack her unless her forces open fire first. NOW!"

"At once, Your Grace!" The man gave hurried instructions to one of the footmen standing at the sideboard, then scribbled a note for him to take to Elsa.

Long moments went by until the footman returned, wheezing and out of breath from running . He gasped, "Your Grace, she agrees. She is outside waiting for you."

"Very well. Come, all of you. Perhaps we can talk our way out of this mess." The Duke strode out the door, followed by his staff. _"And if that damn fool Grár had done what I paid him to do, she'd be dead. Bah!"_

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Colonel Nordholm had arrayed the Marines in a square, with Elsa at the center. They had good lines of fire to all the streets leading to the plaza in front of the Ducal Palace. The broad steps leading into the palace were about ten yards in front of them. There were no Weselton soldiers to be seen, which did not mean there were no Weselton soldiers. A footman had run up to Elsa a few minutes ago with a note, seeking a parley. After he had disappeared into the palace again, no others appeared.

Dismounting and handing the reins of his horse to an aide, Naismith walked through the Marines to where Elsa stood looking over the situation. "What do you think he'll do, Your Majesty?"

She had a thoughtful look on her face as she replied, "I'm not sure, Admiral. I'll confess I don't understand that twisty little man. I can't fathom what he thinks there is to negotiate."

"I believe he would like to negotiate being alive at the end of this, my Queen."

"I'm sure you're right, Admiral. I think I shall remind him of who has the power in this negotiation, in case he thinks I can be intimidated."

Elsa waved her hands expansively and the Ducal Palace was covered in snow and icicles. The steps were slippery and the windows were iced shut. "There, that should be enough of a reminder." The rest of the square was next; she and Naismith had discussed the tactical danger of being exposed to fire from the surrounding buildings. Neither one of them trusted the Duke. He was perfectly capable of attempting an ambush.

A ring of ice grew around the Arendelle troops, high enough to prevent any shots fired by anyone in the surrounding buildings from hitting Elsa or anyone else in the square. Then she raised her hands and swung her arms around to push the walls up against the buildings, covering all the windows, sealing any Weselton troops concealed in those buildings safely inside. Another gesture, and an even thicker wall of ice completed the barriers. There could be no threat from any of the buildings. One more sweeping wave of her hands blocked all the streets leading to the square. Elsa looked at her handiwork in satisfaction. The only entry to the square now was from the Ducal Palace.

There was a bustle of activity as a group of men in the Duke's uniform came out through the doors and approached the steps down to the plaza. They were caught by surprise at the icy conditions and several of them slipped and fell. The rest moved warily, careful not to fall flat on their faces like their comrades. They carried muskets, but made no attempt to bring them to bear on Elsa or her troops. The alert stance of her Marines would have made that a truly unwise decision in any case, as they had their weapons at the ready to take down any man who made a hostile move.

Elsa took pity on the men and waved away the ice on the steps and portico. Taking advantage of the better footing the Weselton troops arranged themselves in a line across the front of the palace, being careful to keep their muskets shouldered so as not to provoke Elsa's Marines. They fidgeted in ranks, even the officers clearly unsure of what to do next. It wasn't long before the Duke came through the door, followed by his generals.

Elsa tried to stifle her emotions as she saw the little man who had been responsible for the danger she and Anna had been put through. She drew herself up in regal dignity, no trace of any emotion except contempt on her face, her hands clasped demurely in front of her. She waited for the Duke to speak first.

"You can't intimidate me, you monster!" The Duke barked, a scowl on his face.

Admiral Naismith glanced at Elsa, then spoke as she nodded minutely. "We're not here to intimidate you, Your Grace. We're here to punish you for your war on Arendelle."

"My war? She started it, she almost killed me!"

"You slipped on some ice," retorted Naismith.

"HER ice!" sputtered the Duke.

Elsa had heard enough. She put her hand on the Admiral's arm to restrain him, then spoke directly to the Duke. "Your Grace, declaring war on another kingdom by kidnapping and beating members of their royal family could be considered deserving of death. You had that fate planned for me. What then, should I do with you?"

The Duke was looking around the square in dismay, his mouth hanging open as though he were about to give an order of some kind. It was apparent that the thick walls of ice that sealed off all the windows overlooking the Arendelle troops had not been part of his calculations.

Elsa looked up at the Admiral, who rolled his eyes. They had discussed this possibility on the trip to Weselton and worked out the plan to deal with it if the Duke were so stupid as to try it. Apparently he was that stupid. The Marines had been briefed and ordered not to fire first under any circumstances.

Elsa strode toward the Duke and his men on the steps. As the front ranks of her Marines had brought their muskets to bear on them, none of his troops were so foolish as to bring their muskets off their shoulders. The Duke stepped backwards so quickly he tripped over his own feet and wound up flat on his back on the pavement of the top step. He pulled himself up and hid behind one of the larger generals as she continued up the steps, followed by Naismith, Gunnarsson, and her Queen's Own.

The Arendelle group stopped at the top of the steps and looked over the Duke and his generals. Elsa spoke, "Well, Your Grace, are you TRYING to make me even more angry than I already am? All you are succeeding in doing is convincing me that the advisers that urged me to make a … permanent … change to the regime here in Weselton were right."

She looked at the men surrounding the little man. "And what do you gentlemen think? By the laws of war, am I not entitled to take my revenge on this Duchy for the harm done to my kingdom and me? It is clear to me that mercy would be dangerous, as your Duke has shown that he cannot be trusted. It appears that he is determined to continue until one of us is dead."

"You … Your Majesty, we swore oaths of loyalty to our Duke. I cannot speak for the others, but I will not break that oath. You may have my sword as token of surrender, but I will not abandon my liege lord." The rest of the men nodded.

Elsa shrugged. "I cannot fault your integrity or your courage, gentlemen. Very well, then, you shall accompany him into captivity. If a long enough stay in my dungeons lets the Duke think of some way for him to convince me that sending him into exile is safe, you may some day see the light of day again."

"Who will rule the Duchy if you take him, take all of us?" asked the general.

"Not our problem. Who is the heir? Does the Duke not have an heir to take over in his place?" Naismith answered.

The Duke stepped toward Elsa, but halted as Eric drew his sword protectively. Elsa put a hand on his arm, but he remained alert for any threatening move by the Duke. "No, there is no heir! This Duchy will fall into chaos and ruin!" the Duke sputtered, indignant at Elsa's plan to imprison him.

Before she could respond to his statement, a strong contralto voice spoke up from the doorway of the Ducal Palace. "That's … not precisely true, father, is it?" A figure of medium height, wearing a face-concealing red hooded cloak strode from within the palace, followed by several others wearing the livery of the palace servants. They carried pistols and swords.

"YOU! How did you get into the palace?" demanded the Duke. He and the little group surrounding him moved aside as the newcomers approached. Elsa and her group stood alertly, while Naismith signaled the Marines to hold their positions and their fire.

"Why, father, it's my home, after all, and many of the servants remained loyal to me after you threw me out. How do you think I've been able to dodge all those men you've sent to smoke me out? Even the reward you put on my head wasn't enough to bring me to ground, was it?" the intruder pulled back the hood, revealing a brimmed hat with a foxtail dangling from the back. Grinning at the tableau on the palace steps, Rödräv turned to Elsa and her people.

"Your Majesty, you must excuse my father's ill-mannered ways. May I introduce myself? I am known as Rödräv, the Red Fox, and I am the true heir of the Duke of Weselton." A sweeping, flamboyant gesture removed the hat and a deep bow of respect to Elsa completed the salute.

Elsa gasped. Removing the hat had released long, auburn hair.

Red Fox stood straight and grinned at the Arendelle Queen. "Yes, Your Majesty, I am the Duke's daughter. In spite of the fact that the laws of inheritance of this realm clearly state that the first-born child, regardless of gender, shall inherit the title, my father chose to disown me in hopes of a son." She turned to glare at the cowering Duke. "My mother was so disgusted by this betrayal that she left him without divorcing him and sailed back to her home kingdom. And so, his dreams of a male heir have come to naught. Haven't they, dear Papa?"

"You, you … abomination! Why didn't you just go with her?" the Duke was so furious he was actually hopping enough to displace his toupee.

"Because I can rule this duchy far more effectively than you ever have! Without starving its people, you tyrant."

"No one is starving!"

"Because you can't work a starving peasant to death!"

"Women have no place in government!" The Duke colored as he remembered who was in his audience and cast a quick glance at Elsa.

Rödräv snickered at his discomfort, then retorted, "We could hardly do worse than men! Look, for example, at the mess you have brought to this Duchy!"

Elsa, Naismith and Gunnarsson had the impression they were witnessing only the latest round in a long-running argument. It looked to go on for a while, so Elsa decided to interject herself into the discussion.

She threw a snowball into the air over their heads and burst it, letting the snow fall gently over the two. "Excuse me, Your Grace." They stopped bickering and looked at her, the Duke angrily, the 'Red Fox' with curiosity.

"I can see that this is a conversation that should be held without strangers present. If you can assure me that I and my forces can do so without harm, we will withdraw to our ships and wait for you to send a delegation to inform us what decision has been reached," Elsa informed them.

"What makes you think we'll reach a decision, Your Majesty?" Rödräv purred.

"Because if you don't reach a decision, I will return and impose one, as I was prepared to do before you came bounding out of the Ducal Palace, young lady," replied Elsa. Her face was stern.

"She is no lady!" interjected the Duke, his face florid, his toupee flapping as he stamped his high-heeled booted foot.

"Papa, whether you will admit it or not, I. Am. Still. Your. Heir. And considering that your alternative to accepting that reality is a short voyage on rough seas and then some indeterminately long stay as a guest in Her Majesty's dungeons," she waved to indicate Elsa, "I would think you would be open to some negotiation on whether I am a lady or not. And what that means to the governance of this Duchy." She crossed her arms and waited for a response. He was too furious to come up with one, so Red Fox turned to Elsa and raised a quizzical eyebrow, as if to say, "Now what?"

"You have until tomorrow morning. We will be waiting on our ships. If you have not sent me a messenger by 9 tomorrow morning, we will return and pick up where we left off. Am I clear?" Elsa asked.

The Duke, Rödräv, her supporters and the Duke's generals all looked at each other, then reluctantly nodded.

"Very well then. We will leave you to it." Elsa gestured and the street leading back to the harbor was clear of ice and snow. The Admiral barked a command, the Marines did a sharp about face and began to march back the way they had come. Elsa and her guard followed. The square was empty except for the Duke's party on the steps of the palace.

One of his generals touched the fuming Duke on the arm and suggested, "Your Grace, perhaps we should go inside and … talk." He eyed the smirking Rödräv warily.

When the Arendelle forces had reboarded their ships, Elsa thawed most of the harbor, although she left the two Weselton Navy ships iced over. She turned to Naismith and asked, "Do you think we'll be safe from a surprise attack or some other foul play?"

He considered it for a moment, then replied, "I will order that a watch be kept for any sign of an attempted sneak attack. We should be be safe enough. Now what shall we do?"

Elsa didn't know whether to be worried or hopeful. "We wait." She looked back at the dockside buildings. There wasn't a soul to be seen on the streets.

Naismith nodded, saluted her, and left to give the necessary orders.


	14. Pure as Snow

**Author's Note:**

1) Sorry for the long gap between updates. Real life and other distractions, you know the drill. it will be better from now on. I have maybe two bridge chapters to get to the ending chapters, which have been written for months. Sheesh.

2) Shoutout to dragunov888 for calling "BS" on the horrible tactics demonstrated in the original version of chapter 13. Elsa may be a noob when it comes to tactics, but Naismith is not, and he would never have let them walk into a killbox like the original version had them do. I fixed it, so the review now speaks to something no longer in existence, thanks for the wakeup call, drag!

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Pure as Snow**

"_The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority." _  
**― Kenneth H. Blanchard **

_"Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny."  
_— **William Shakespeare, _Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1_**_  
_

***** Kingdom of Arendelle – Late January, 1841 – Two Days After Fleet Departs *****

Kristoff was getting his back pounded and his hand pumped in congratulations by his ice harvester friends. They had just elected him Guild Master by an overwhelming margin. He wasn't sure about this, he had never been one for politics. He had never been one for people, for that matter. Alone, with Sven for company, had seemed to be enough. At least it had been before he had met up with a crazy woman searching for her sister in a howling blizzard. While wearing a summer ball gown.

"Good on ye, Kristoff! Ye'll do a foin job representin' us to the high 'n mighties, I know it!" The speaker was one of the older ice harvesters, a man who had taught Kristoff much of the trade. His sentiments were echoed by many of the others in the room. There were a few gloomy faces from the supporters of the other candidates, but they were just that, gloomy, not hostile.

One of those other candidates came over and thrust his hand out to Kristoff and said, "Best man won, Bjorgman. You're young, but you've never been dishonest or stupid. Just remember where you've come from." He shook Kristoff's hand, then stalked away, he and a few of his supporters leaving the Guild Hall, probably to drown their sorrows at the nearest pub.

"_Wonder what that meant?"_ Kristoff thought to himself.

"Okay, Kristoff, now we wet down your new title! Let's go, first round is on the new Guild Master!" A hearty cheer reinforced this proclamation, and the group dragged Kristoff off to celebrate.

Too many celebratory drinks later, Kristoff managed to stumble back to the castle gates and knock, almost falling over when he missed on the first try. The 'thump' as his head hit the gate was almost as good as a knock, and he managed to stay upright when the guards pulled it open. "Hey, guys! How ya' doin'?" he greeted them cheerfully.

Knowing smirks on their faces, the two guards said, "Welcome back, Ice Master. The Princess will be glad to know you have returned to us. She's been waiting for you. In the stable. For hours."

"Ohhhh, thash not good. I better get over there and … and ..." Kristoff wasn't sure what he was going to do but his addled brain realized that Anna in a bad mood was a problem. Sven probably wasn't too happy either.

Staggering off across the courtyard, he waved feebly at the two highly amused guards and tried to focus his bleary eyes enough to find his way to the stables and his beloved.

Anna took one look at Kristoff hugging Sven and apologizing for neglecting him and knew he had fallen in with bad company again. Kristoff was not at all prone to get drunk and disorderly, but every now and again his ice harvester buddies managed to talk him into a night of over-indulgence. Usually not THIS overly indulgent, though. Shaking her head, she took him by the hand and led him to his room above the stables, amused at his drunken amiability. "Come on, Kristoff, to bed with you. Morning will come 'way too early for that ale-sodden head of yours."

She steered him to flop onto his bed, then pulled off his boots and threw a blanket over him. He was snoring before she had snuffed the lantern. Anna made sure his water pitcher was full and his chamber pot was empty. He'd need both before morning, she knew from past experience. Shaking her head, she gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek and went down to say her goodnight to Sven. Tomorrow was plenty soon enough to explain why trying to stay even with his ice harvester drinking buddies was a bad idea. And she suspected his own head would do most of the talking, letting her be kind and sympathetic while gently pointing that out.

The next morning at breakfast, Kristoff was bleary-eyed and greenish of skin pallor. He had apparently managed to bathe and dress in clean clothes, although his vest was slightly askew and a shirttail was untucked. Anna suppressed a smile and simply waved the footman to pour coffee for her poor beau. Kristoff fumbled for the cup, then used both hands to bring it to his mouth and drink it all in one long swallow. He sighed, then held the cup out piteously for more. The footman obliged, then left the carafe at Anna's gesture.

"So, had a fun evening at the Guildhall, Ice Master?" Anna asked innocently.

"Mmmm … at the time it seemed like fun," mumbled Kristoff. He looked at her and tried to focus. "After the election, the guys all wanted to celebrate. I couldn't say no, it would look … like I thought I was too good to hang out with them," he explained in a plaintive voice.

Anna nodded thoughtfully, then said, "Elsa has to sit through a lot of state dinners with many toasts to the Queen. She could teach you how to look like you're drinking while not really doing it." She looked at him and saw that the greenish cast to his face was fading to his more normal shade. "Ready for something to eat?"

He looked uncertain, then nodded. "Yeah. Something … soft. Warm. Easy to digest."

"Groats with cream and honey should do it, and be sure to drink a lot of water. Gerda said it's important to drink a lot of water after an evening of imbibing too freely. Papa would do it occasionally, to Mama's great amusement the next day, she said."

"Somehow I can't imagine your father getting drunk," Kristoff mumbled through a spoonful of groats.

"Why not? If anyone should know that 'royals' are just people like everyone else, it would be you!" Anna retorted. "We make mistakes like anyone else. Bad mistakes sometimes … " Her voice trailed off and she looked aside with a frown as she remembered some of her own.

Kristoff was not so hungover that he didn't notice her expression and he reached out to touch her hand and say, "Hey, Feisty Pants, past is in the past, like Elsa says, okay?"

She shook off the glum expression to reply, "Yeah, she's right. And maybe Papa would overdo it sometimes, although I only know that from Gerda, but I can't imagine Elsa all goofy and uninhibited. That's a picture that I can't see in my head. That kind of behavior is just beyond my prim and proper sister."

They finished breakfast, then Kristoff walked Anna to Elsa's study. As Regent, she had to cover all the business of the kingdom in Elsa's absence. It had been two days since Elsa and the Navy had sailed off to deal with the Duke of Weselton, so the pile wasn't too high yet.

When she reached the door, Anna stretched on tip-toe to give Kristoff a peck on the cheek and asked, "What are your plans for the day?"

He smiled at the kiss and replied, "Well, the good news is that after last night I don't think there'll be any activity at the Guild Hall before late this afternoon. So I'm going to go muck out Sven's stall to sweat out the rest of the leftover ale from last night and then maybe catch a nap afterward. What were you planning for lunch?"

"I'm going to work through the entire pile of paper on Elsa's desk, then take the rest of the day off. How about a late lunch this afternoon?"

"Sounds good. Come get me when you're ready." He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, then went off to visit Sven and start that sweating out thing.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Working on the theory that randomly choosing days to go into town would make assassination attempts unlikely, at least until the weather got better, Anna decided that she and Kristoff deserved an afternoon visiting one of their favorite inns for that late lunch, then would stop by the Guild Hall to check in with anyone who had managed to survive their 'celebration'. The four guards that accompanied them didn't bother Anna at all this time. _ "Amazing what having a bullet miss you by inches can do to change an attitude,"_ Anna thought sourly. She still hated the necessity for the guards, but she now had a healthy appreciation that there were people in the world that wanted her and Elsa dead. The scary part was she didn't know who or exactly why.

"Skilling for your thoughts, Feisty Pants?" Kristoff asked. He had noticed the uncharacteristic silence as they walked to the inn.

"Sorry. Moping. Worrying. Elsa's on her way to Weaseltown, there's someone out there who wants us dead, and I am so sick and tired of reading trade reports and diplomatic dispatches that I could scream," she replied.

He took her cloak and hung it up next to his own jacket, then held her chair to let her sit. They ordered, then Kristoff took Anna's hand in his own and said, "Anna, Elsa will be okay. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, except the Duke, and that only in his wallet."

"I know. But accidents can happen and I can't help worrying." She brightened a little when their meal was placed on the table. She hadn't eaten a lot for breakfast and her stomach had been reminding her of that little fact all morning.

They were picking over the remnants of dessert when Baron Thorstad walked up and greeted Anna with a polite, "Your Highness, I hope I am not interrupting." He glanced at Kristoff and continued, "I wanted to be one of the first to congratulate the new Guildmaster!"

His effusive smile surprised Kristoff. Thorstad had never found it necessary to notice Kristoff in the past. "Well, thank you, Your Grace. I appreciate the sentiment."

"Yes, well, I am sure your compatriots and associates were very much aware of the advantages of electing you and how that would redound to the benefit of the new guild. They chose well. I look forward to dealing with you this week when the Trade Council meets." Thorstad nodded at Kristoff, made a small bow to Anna, then took his leave.

Kristoff was puzzled by the Baron's remarks. "I wonder what he meant by that?"

Anna hadn't really paid much attention. Although she had dealt with Thorstad during Council meetings in Elsa's absence, he wasn't one of her favorite people. If pressed, she couldn't even say why he made her uncomfortable. It hardly made sense to say, "He smiles too much," as a reason to not like someone.

"I doubt he meant anything, Kristoff. He's a politician, that's what politicians do, they are professionally nice to people. I've never seen him not be nice at council meetings," Anna said thoughtfully. "I should ask Elsa about that … he's been on the council since before she took over when my parents … uh, " she didn't finish the sentence.

"Yeah, I get it." Kristoff patted her hand sympathetically. Three and a half years later and the loss of their parents still weighed heavily on both sisters.

"Maybe more coffee will make us both feel better," Anna said as she waved at the person who was serving them.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Thorstad entered Rob Pierre's business office and greeted his associate cheerfully. After turning his coat and hat over to a servant, he settled into a chair and asked, "How is the new manufacturing enterprise progressing?"

Pierre growled, "It is proving more difficult than I would have thought to get your countrymen to invest in a new idea." He scribbled more figures in the account book he was working on.

"That's … unfortunate. Although, not that surprising, given how staid and conservative this kingdom is. Our entire economy has been based on our natural resources. Extraction industries like forestry and fishing. The switch to actually making things is … not something that would be embraced with enthusiasm at first." Thorstad tapped his fingers on the desk as he thought.

"Perhaps … what we need is a push, an incentive," Thorstad mused.

"What?" muttered Pierre. "An incentive from who? What kind of incentive?"

Thorstad sat up and slapped the table enthusiastically. "The Crown, some sort of Royal franchise. The Queen has always been supportive of diversifying the economy of Arendelle, broadening the economic base, including more of the population in the ability to share in the prosperity."

Pierre looked at him, his expression clearly one of skepticism. "Why on earth would the monarch care about the people sharing in the prosperity?"

"Rob, I know that you had bad experiences with the royalty and nobility of France, but Arendelle is not like that. I'm not the most enthusiastic fan of the Queen, but as long as I have been on the Royal Council, I have never seen her be anything but mindful of her people. This would be a natural for her to support, I tell you!" Thorstad's conviction distracted him from the sour expression on his associate's face.

"Hmph, I am still unconvinced, but if you think this is something worth pursuing, I will defer to your intimate understanding of your Queen and countrymen. We need something to attract more investment or this will cost us far more than we can hope to gain. How should we proceed?" asked Pierre. He sat back in his chair and watched Thorstad think for a few minutes.

"Well, the Queen herself is in Weselton, presumably preparing to freeze the Duke into a nicely appointed statue. The Princess is acting as Regent until she returns, and we have a Trade Council meeting the day after tomorrow. The newly elected Master of the Ice Guild will be joining us, I'm sure he can persuade the Princess. I'll work on convincing him this is a good opportunity. He should be easy to influence, he's just a jumped-up ice harvester who's fallen into a fortuitous romance."

Pierre had a somewhat higher opinion of Kristoff than Thorstad did. "I doubt that, mon ami. Do not outsmart yourself, eh?"

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Kristoff managed to get through what seemed like an interminable meeting of the Trade Council without incident. The group, numbering about 25 in total, consisted of the Masters of the Trade Guilds, of which the Ice Guild was the newest, and representatives of the major Merchant or Trading Houses. He had to admit he felt more at ease with the other guilds-men than with the high-born rich of the mercantile class.

As the newest Guildmaster, he was introduced by the Master of the oldest guild, the Fishermen. He nodded to each of the other members, managed to speak two or three sentences about how humbled he was to join such a distinguished company, and sat back with a sigh of relief when he was finished. _"Glad I practiced that with Anna last night,"_ he congratulated himself on his foresight.

After the meeting, he was chatting with some of the other Guild Masters when Baron Thorstad approached and asked if he might invite Kristoff to lunch? Puzzled as to why Thorstad would want to spend time with him, Kristoff agreed and the two men walked to a nearby Inn for the noon meal.

"Ice Master, I congratulate you again on your selection by your fellows to represent them," said the Baron somewhat effusively over coffee.

"Ah, thank you, Your Grace. What can I do for you today?" Kristoff wasn't much for small talk and got right to the point of the meeting.

"Direct, I like that, my boy!"

"_I'm not anyone's 'boy', especially not yours,"_ thought Kristoff sourly, but he kept his expression neutral, nodded and gestured at Thorstad to continue. Kristoff had little patience for people who talked down to him, but punching Thorstad out would be overkill and embarrass Anna. And Elsa. He didn't want to do anything that would reflect badly on them, so he stifled his impulse to be rude to the Baron for the moment and listened as Thorstad continued.

"The reason I wished to speak with you was to explain an opportunity for Arendelle to benefit economically and hope that you could bring it to the Princess' attention in the absence of the Queen."

Kristoff was wary. His experience of someone who wanted to explain 'opportunities' that would benefit him 'economically' often led to someone trying to cheat him. Bulda hadn't raised a dummy. The trolls were so old that there really was nothing new under the sun for them, and they had seen every last scam in multiple guises over the years.

"Ah, Your Grace, Anna is only the Regent; Els … I mean, Her Majesty will be gone for only a few weeks, not forever." Kristoff tried to maintain an engaging tone, and his 'innocent and maybe a little dumb' look on his face. He didn't know Thorstad well at all, and wasn't going to commit to anything if he could possibly avoid it.

"I know that, Ice Master. But influence is important, and I know that the Queen accepts her sister's acumen and opinions on matters as she makes her own decisions," Thorstad replied in a somewhat patronizing tone that didn't endear him to Kristoff at all.

"The Queen indeed thinks highly of her sister, Your Grace. However, she has pretty strong opinions of her own, opinions that Anna rarely tries to change or influence." Kristoff was wishing he had never agreed to this meeting. "I am flattered that you think that I can influence the Princess, but I have some Guild business this afternoon. Could we wrap this up please?"

"Of course, of course. I was hoping to convince the Queen to endorse some of the new manufactories that are being organized to take advantage of the trade disagreements with Weselton." Thorstad went on to explain in detail what the new enterprises were intended to do and why a Royal endorsement would be a boost to such an endeavor. Kristoff listened attentively until Thorstad ran down.

"I understand, Your Grace. I will be sure to convey the information to Princess Anna. If I may suggest, however, that a written proposal presented at your next Advisory Council meeting might be more productive than a conversation with me, so that I can talk to Anna, who will then talk to the Queen," Kristoff said.

"Master Kristoff, if I may be so bold, you are young, and not well versed in the ways of the world. Reports are dull and lifeless. The real work of getting things done is through the web of friendships and relationships one forms in their daily activities. You are now a person of great influence, by virtue of your relationship with the Royal Family. I'm sure that entered into your election to your new position. It is not often that commoners have any influence that reaches into the very halls of the palace itself." Thorstad's smug grin made Kristoff itch to wipe it off, but his words were troubling. It wasn't something that had crossed Kristoff's mind before. Was Thorstad right? Was his election because of Anna, not because his friends honestly thought he would do a good job?

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Kristoff spoke up again. "You're correct, Your Grace. You have given me much to think about. Thank you. I will convey the idea of a Royal franchise to the Princess so that she can talk it over with the Queen upon her return. Although I still think a written proposal will be of interest to Queen Elsa."

Both men stood to leave, and Thorstad nodded at Kristoff with a smile and took his leave.

Watching him go, Kristoff was uneasy and decided he and Anna needed to talk about something other than Sven and Olaf's antics tonight. He recognized the thin ice of life in a Royal court, and knew he needed guidance to cross it safely.


	15. How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth

Chapter 15– How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth

* * *

_"Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on."  
― __Criss Jami__, ___Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile__

***** Harbor, Duchy of Weselton, ******Aboard the flagship ******_**King Agdar**_**** *****

After an evening meal and a brief strategy session over coffee and spirits, Elsa bid her officers good night and retired to her tiny cabin. Sleep wouldn't come, however, and she tossed and turned in the bunk, glad that she was a somewhat slender woman of not much more than average height, rather than a tall, heavy-set man. She wondered how the Colonel, who was such a tall, heavy-set man, could fit himself into the rather confining bed. Then she thought of the men in hammocks slung below decks, and appreciated the hardship her sailors were willing to undergo while serving their kingdom; while serving her. For rather the thousandth time or so, she was humbled and hoped she was earning their sacrifice.

The day's events had been … interesting. The encounter with the child had frightened her – a moment's less attention and she could have hurt the little girl. The Duke's planned ambush was nothing, as it was an obvious ploy and her military people had anticipated and planned out how to neutralize the threat with her magic. The look on the Duke's face when he came out to meet with them was a clear indication that he had not given her the credit of being smart enough to avoid his trap.

The revelation that the Duke had an heir, a daughter, and that his daughter was in fact the notorious Red Fox who was leading the insurrection against his tyrannical rule over the Duchy had changed Elsa's strategy. IF the Red Fox could convince her father to abdicate and declare her the true heir, and also convince Elsa that the Duke would no longer threaten Arendelle, then Elsa might hope to conclude the entire affair peacefully, without the bloodshed she was so afraid of creating.

On the other hand, there was no guarantee that the Duke could be persuaded to give up his power over his Duchy. Then Elsa could find herself and her kingdom the cause of a bloody civil war.

After hours of useless analysis of events and people she had no hope of influencing, she finally fell into a troubled sleep, and began to dream. THE dream, the one that haunted her nights at least once a week since December.

_**She was on a ship, she was using her magic. She was the Snow Queen in all her power and majesty, and she felt the exhilaration of using that power, just like she had the first time as she built her Ice Palace.**_

The dream tableau shifted, only this time it she was standing on the steps of the Weselton Ducal Palace, the people of Weselton chanting her name as enthusiastically as her own troops._**Everyone idolized her, worshiped her fell beauty. She drank the adoration like a fine wine, and it intoxicated her. She let the euphoria wash over her. She had freed Weselton from the foul greed of the Duke, and these people were hers now. **_

The setting changed again._**Now she was in a Throne Room, prisoners in chains kneeling before her in abject misery, their heads bowed and their faces hidden. "Take them away and execute them!" Elsa heard her own voice pass a sentence of death on the prisoners. **_

_**Guards pulled the victims to their feet and Elsa saw their faces. One of them was Anna, looking at her with tears in her eyes. "Elsa, how can you condemn us like this?" dream-Anna sobbed. The others were the Duke and the mother and child she had met on the street.**_

"NO!" Elsa gasped out as she sat up, almost falling to the deck of the cabin.

The noise was enough to have the guard at her door call out, "Your Majesty, is everything alright?"

She managed to gather her wits enough to respond, "Yes, I'm fine. Just … stumbling around in the dark."

The answer satisfied the guard and he did not open the door to check on her.

Thankful that her excuse kept him from investigating further, Elsa threw back the blanket and got out of bed. Creating a glow with her magic, she took the few steps needed to reach the small table where a pitcher and cup stood. Pouring herself a cup of water, she gulped it down and sat in the side chair until she felt her breath and heartbeat return to normal.

"_Why do I keep having that same dream? What does it mean?" _she thought. It was a nightmare to her; a vision of her as a cruel despot willing to condemn … her sister? Why? The dream raised a buried guilt over hurting Anna as a child, and again on the mountain. Tonight's version apparently had her subconscious include another child in danger of death at the Snow Queen's hands, a child who reminded her of Anna.

She tried to make sense of the dream. Even though she could now control her magic, apparently deep inside she still didn't trust herself with the almost unlimited power at her command. The most troubling part was her emotions in the dream – emotions of exhilaration and gratification at being adored by cheering crowds. She hadn't thought that she was subject to such hubris.

Looking down at the cup in her hands, she was chagrined to see it covered in frost, the dregs of the water solid ice. She waved the cup back to normal, then poured another cup of water and drank it. _"This is useless. Go to sleep, Elsa, the morning will bring even more stress and you need to be rested to deal with it." _Placing the cup back on the table, she folded herself into the cramped bunk and finally managed to fall into a dreamless sleep.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The Duke, his staff, and his daughter 'negotiated' long into the night, if one could call the acrimonious debate conducted at the top of everyone's voices 'negotiations'.

The young woman who went by the name 'Red Fox' finally slapped the table hard enough to cause the empty bowls and tankards to jump, knocking some over. "ENOUGH!" she shouted, then glared at the stubborn old man who was her father. The group fell silent, with one last 'huff' from the Duke as he slumped into his chair.

"Father, it is clear that you will not budge. I'm sorry, but the Duchy can't afford to indulge your irrational foreign policy toward Arendelle any more. You have brought ruin upon us all by attacking a woman who did you no harm, save to your ego, a woman with unimaginable power who is now sitting in your harbor ready to take her revenge."

She stood up and began to pace, continuing to speak. "And the Duchy can't afford your greed, either. Even without trade with Arendelle, we should be a prosperous people. Yet the fruits of our labor flow into only a few pockets, and the vast majority of our people eke out a miserable living on the ragged edge of starvation."

The General who was the commander of the Duchy's armed forces looked glum. "We don't seem to be any closer to agreement than we were before. It appears that the Snow Queen will have to break this impasse."

"No. Weselton will not be dictated to by a foreign power. WE shall chose our own fate!" shouted Rödräv. "All of you, go get something to eat. Leave me and my father. We will call you when we have settled this between us!"

The Duke fumed as the rest of the group left them and closed the door behind them. He turned to his daughter and started to argue, "What makes you think that we can – "

"Father, shut up."

He shut up with an audible 'click' as his teeth slammed together.

"Father, why won't you agree to name me as heir, as is the law of the Duchy? You would be doing the honorable thing, and could retire in luxury," Rödräv asked him.

"Because SHE hurt me!" was the shouted response. The Duke stalked over to the window and stared out into the darkness.

Rödräv knew that 'she' meant her mother, the woman who had left him behind in disgust when he had disowned his daughter. Arianna, known as the Red Fox/Rödräv now as she led an uprising of the people of Weselton. She walked over and touched his shoulder, he shook it off and went to sit in a chair, arms crossed, refusing to look at her.

"Is that your final position? That there can be no reconciliation between us?" He continued to ignore her.

"You realize that you leave me no choice but to exile you?" Arianna said softly.

He looked up at this and snarled, "What makes you think you have the power to exile me?"

Exasperated, she huffed, "Father, your only support is from a very few toadies who profit by picking YOUR pockets. Your military has honor, but when I show them the books that make it clear that their troops have been shortchanged to enrich those same toadies, do you really think that they will continue to back you?"

The Duke slumped in his chair; she was right and he knew it. It was too much, it was over. He faced the reality and accepted it. "What will you do with me? Turn me over to that Sorceress?" he grumbled. "Let me rot in her dungeons?"

"No. You should know better. In any case, I doubt she would appreciate you as a 'guest', even after what you did to her. No, honorable exile, with enough resources to be comfortable. With some of your toadies as companions. They can even take much of their loose coin. You should be able to set up legitimate businesses with that much money."

"Where?"

"It is my understanding that Australia is looking for men of means to help tame its wild frontier. And it is far enough away that Queen Elsa should feel that justice has been done."

"Botany Bay? That's not a frontier, it's a howling wilderness of savages and ferocious beasts!"

"Nonsense. I have carefully researched this – with your money and background, you will be able to establish yourself as a man of means very easily. A little hard work never hurt anyone; you've just lost the practice of it."

She waited. Finally, he nodded, still not looking at her. She went to the door to recall the rest to tell them what had been agreed to. Her hand on the doorknob, she turned and said, "She still loves you, father. And so do I."

There was no response. She had expected none.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The next morning, Elsa, Admiral Naismith and his staff, and Captain Gunnarsson were chatting on the quarterdeck while waiting for a messenger from the Duke, or his daughter, or whomever wound up controlling the duchy. The Arendelle group had spent the evening discussing various scenarios as to how the power struggle could play out, and what their response should be to each possible outcome.

Elsa was now more determined than ever to resolve the situation without bloodshed, but she was stymied as to exactly how to do that should the Duke remain in power. Her dilemma remained: Elsa could not let his aggression go unpunished, or Arendelle would be in danger of being seen as a target ripe for conquest.

Promptly at 9 o'clock, a messenger in the livery of the Duchy rode up to the dock bearing a white flag. Dismounting, he walked up to the gangplank of Elsa's ship and called out, "I bear greetings from the Duchess Arianna of Weselton!"

"Well, I guess that tells us who won the argument," muttered Captain Gunnarsson.

"Indeed," agreed Admiral Naismith.

At a wave from the officer of the deck, the messenger came on board and approached Elsa and her men. Bowing respectfully, he held out a thick packet with the seal of Weselton embossed on the flap. Elsa took it, opened it and began to read. Finished, she looked at the messenger and said, "Please tell the Duchess that we agree to meet with her, but not at the Ducal Palace. I'm sure she will understand my … reluctance to place myself in such a vulnerable position."

"She was aware that was a possibility. She mentioned the same concern about your ships," replied the messenger.

Elsa thought for a moment, then walked over to the railing of the ship. Closing her eyes to visualize what she wanted to do, she waved her hand expansively and created a building of ice on the water next to the ship, with a stairway of ice to the dock. It wasn't very large, but clearly big enough to have a meeting. Returning to where the messenger stood, jaw hanging open in awe, she said, "Explain to the Duchess that we will meet here. I will have only three advisers and three guards. She may bring three guards as well, plus her advisers. Only the guards may be armed, and only with swords – no firearms. When she presents herself here, my ships will pull away from the dock with all the rest of my troops and sail out of the harbor so they are no threat."

"I … will present your request to her," stammered the Weselton man.

"It's not a request, it's a demand. If she does not agree, I will return to the Ducal Palace with all my troops and we will begin negotiating under rather more stringent rules. Please make that clear." Elsa's voice was stern. She did not yet know if she could trust the new Duchess; this could all be a ruse to make yet another attempt on her life.

The Weselton man bowed, left the ship, mounted his horse and left at a gallop.

"Is this wise, Your Majesty?" asked Admiral Naismith.

"It may be, or may not be. If 'Duchess Arianna' is real, and willing to negotiate in good faith, and can convince me that her father is no longer a threat to Arendelle, then it is wise." Elsa looked at her guard Captain. "Captain, you and two others, swords only. Once we are sure the Weselton delegation is unarmed, we shall all sit and negotiate. Admiral, you and two others that you pick will be my advisers. Please give the appropriate orders to the ship captains." Elsa turned to go below decks. "I will be resting in my cabin. Call me when we hear back from the Duchess."


	16. Home is Where the Heart Is

Hi, There! Guess who finally got past the writer's block on this story? Please go back and read chapter 15, which is now a real chapter with real content, instead of just a lame excuse for not updating in six months.

The good news is that this story is pretty much complete, so new chapters will go up every week, if not more often. There are about 5 chapters left.

Real life sometimes interferes, but I did write other stories in between times. Hope you enjoyed them.

Now, on with the show!

**CHAPTER 16 – Home is Where the Heart Is**

* * *

"Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?"  
― Stephanie Perkins, _Anna and the French Kiss_

Anna was wishing she was anywhere but in the Royal Council Chamber. As regent, she sat in for Elsa and had done a fine job of doing her sister's work while she was gone. That didn't mean she enjoyed it.

"And, so, Your Highness, a Royal Franchise for some of the new manufactories has many advantages for the economy of Arendelle. Up until now, the kingdom has based its enterprises on fishing, lumbering, and mining. We ship our natural resources off to other kingdoms, who then add value and sell them back to us at a much higher price." Baron Thorstad had been droning on about economies of scale, extractive industries, and other minutia for a while. Anna hoped he was almost to the point of the presentation – she understood the importance of a thriving economy, she just didn't enjoy abstract discussions about it.

Thorstad finished and stood at the foot of the table, a smile on his face, obviously pleased with himself.

"Baron Thorstad, it is my understanding that if an endeavor is seen to be profitable, there should be no end of people willing to invest in it," Anna commented. She wasn't sure why this was a thing he felt needed to be brought to the Council.

"That's normally true, Your Highness, but in this case the novelty works against it. Arendelle is a rather, ah, staid and settled kingdom. Our people tend to stick to the tried and true, rather than seeking out new and innovative ways of doing things."

Anna thought that over, then said, "I see. You have a written proposal that lays all this out, don't you?" She had spotted the thick pile of papers he had placed on the conference table. He nodded. "Very well, then please pass them out, with two copies for me, and I will review this with the Queen as soon as she returns from Weasel – Weselton."

After the documents were distributed, Anna gathered hers, along with the notes she had scribbled during the meeting, then stood and said, "We are adjourned. Thank you all, and I'm sure my sister will be back before next month's meeting." She pushed her chair back and left the room as they all bowed.

"_Lunch. I need lunch,_" Anna thought as she walked into Elsa's study. Throwing the papers she collected at the Council meeting onto the desk, she immediately headed for the family dining room. Kristoff was already there.

Wrapping her arms around him from behind, Anna buried her face in his shoulder and muttered, "PLEASE never sic Baron Thorstad on me again!"

"Hey, you're the Regent! Until Elsa gets back, it's all on you!" Kristoff protested. "It was my duty to turn the information over to the Crown. I did that."

Anna sat down and waved at the footman to serve lunch. "And now I can let it sit in Elsa's 'things to do' basket until she gets back, since it's not something I have the power to just okay."

"When is she getting back?" Kristoff asked.

"They've been gone two and a half weeks. The Admiral thought they'd be back in three weeks, given the usual winds and currents this time of year. Unless storms delay them." Anna frowned as she said the word 'storms'. No happy memories there.

Kai chose that moment to enter the dining room. "Your Highness, I believe your sister is back. The _Agdar_ just docked, and she sent a message that she will be joining you for lunch."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

When Elsa came into the dining room a few minutes later, Anna ran to wrap her in a big hug. "Am I glad to see you! Aren't you guys back early? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? What did you do to the little Weasel? Is he chained down in the ship's dungeon?"

Elsa tried to maintain her dignity in the face of her sister's rambling assault. She managed to stifle everything except a small giggle. "Anna, ships don't have dungeons, they have brigs. And we don't have the Duke in ours in any case."

"So how did you get back early?"

"Her Majesty helped things along a bit with her magic, Your Highness," replied Admiral Naismith, who had walked in a few paces behind Elsa. "The winds were more favorable in this direction from Weselton, and she added a few more knots to our speed with her own winds."

Elsa turned to the Admiral. "Admiral, I will have Kai send out a notification to the Royal Council that there will be a special meeting tomorrow afternoon. Will that be enough time for you to complete your analysis of the treaty?"

"More than enough time, Your Majesty. I'll be at the Admiralty the rest of today and tomorrow morning if you need anything from me." He saluted her and left the room.

"Did you keep her out of trouble in my absence, Ice Master?" Elsa's voice was teasing as she sat down for lunch.

"As best I could, Elsa. I managed to stop her from selling the Ice Palace, but I'm sorry to say that you are now paying rent on your castle to the Ice Guild. Your sister is a terrible whist player." His grin was enough to tell Elsa he was joking. She hoped he was joking – Anna really was a terrible whist player, although she loved playing the card game.

After lunch, Kristoff left for the Ice Guild Hall – there was a monthly meeting that evening. Anna followed Elsa to her room, where the Queen flopped face down onto her bed in a most un-Queenly fashion.

"Tired, Elsa?" Anna teased as she joined her sister on the bed and wrapped her in a big hug.

"Uh, huh," mumbled Elsa as she buried her face in Anna's shoulder. "At least kick off your boots, you're getting the comforter dirty."

Complying with her sister's request, Anna took a sniff and said, "Why do I think your next stop is the royal bathing chamber?"

"Because it is, now that I've had a decent hot meal. Shipboard life is not for me, I'm afraid, Queen of a maritime kingdom or not. Three weeks of bathing in a washbasin of cold salt water is … ugh."

She got up, pulling on Anna's hand. "Come on, the bubbles and hot water await. And I can fill you in on everything that happened."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

"So we are now dealing with the DUCHESS of Weselton?" Anna was astonished. She continued to brush out Elsa's hair as her sister sat in front of her vanity. "Wow. Never saw that one coming."

"No, even Colonel Nordholm's people in Weselton had never picked up on that as they tried to find out everything they could about Red Fox." Elsa sighed and continued, "And that has him worried."

"Why?" Anna put the brush down and began to braid Elsa's hair.

"Because it demonstrates that she is very competent and has incredibly loyal people working with her."

"But, we're friends now, right?"

"Well, we aren't enemies. With the Duke on his way to the other side of the planet, we made a good start on an outline for a new set of trade treaties. Just an outline, mind you. A new trade delegation will be arriving in about a week to negotiate with the Trade Council. We should be able to get more favorable terms than we had under the old Duke, but Weselton has always had a reputation for being very skilled traders. Our people will need to be on their toes."

"Do they know that?"

"I intend to make that clear at the Royal Council meeting tomorrow."

Anna snapped her fingers. "That reminds me, Baron Thorstad made a presentation about getting some Royal support for the new manufactories that are trying to get started now that we weren't honoring Weselton's patents any more. There's a thick document sitting on your desk for you to review."

Elsa looked in the mirror at her sister's reflection. Anna was just finishing the braid, her tongue sticking out of one side of her mouth as she usually did when concentrating. It was an expression that always brought a smile to Elsa's face.

"Ta-da!" Anna announced the completion of her braiding, stepped back and took a bow. Elsa had to giggle.

"Thank you, Anna. It always feels so good when you help me get ready for bed." Elsa stood and took Anna's hand. "Would you mind … staying with me tonight? I've missed you so."

Anna pecked Elsa on the cheek and said, "Silly question, silly. I'll go get changed and be back in a little bit. No falling asleep without me!" And she ran out the door.

As she listened to Anna's heartbeat, for the first night in three weeks, Elsa had no bad dreams.


	17. Two Parties

**Author's Note:**

We're done with all that fluffy bunny stuff; from here on the plots boil, the machinations move along, and things get intense. Buckle up, pilgrims!

* * *

**CHAPTER 17 – Two Parties**

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding."  
― Albert Einstein

"It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace."  
― Aristotle

Elsa and Anna waited patiently on the dais in the throne room for the Weselton delegation to arrive. The room was full of members of the Trade Council along with the Royal Advisory Council and selected members of the Arendelle nobility and gentry. After Weselton presented their credentials to Elsa, there would be a reception so that people could mingle and get to know their new trade partners. The serious business of real negotiations would start tomorrow.

"Too bad the Duchess didn't come, I would have liked to meet her," Anna whispered to Elsa.

Elsa whispered back, "Arianna is still trying to clean up the mess left by her father. His biggest supporters went with him to Australia, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who would prefer someone other than Arianna ruling the Duchy."

The doors to the throne room opened and Kai announced, "The delegation from Weselton!"

The three diplomats approached Elsa's throne. The lead negotiator was a woman, Lady Magdalena Kluge, who curtsied to Elsa as her two compatriots bowed. "Your Majesty, thank you for your hospitality!" Lady Kluge was a short, portly woman with dark brown hair done up in a formal bun. She smiled often, but when engaged in a negotiation, her face revealed nothing of her thoughts. Elsa had become somewhat familiar with her in the preliminary talks back in Weselton, and was impressed with her acumen.

Nodding to acknowledge their bows, Elsa replied, "Welcome to Arendelle. I can only hope that these negotiations will prove profitable for both our realms and heal the rift that was created by the unfortunate events of last fall. May I introduce my sister, Princess Anna of Arendelle?" Anna gave a little wave to the group, while Elsa stifled a smile.

A short while later Elsa was engaged in a conversation with Bishop Norgaard when Lady Kluge approached her. Elsa made a little gesture to indicate she was open to the interruption.

"Your Majesty, may I again express my thanks for your hospitality?" Lady Kluge said, as she curtsied once more.

"I am hoping that Arendelle and Weselton can become excellent trade partners once again, to the profit of both of us." Elsa repeated.

"As it happens, Duchess Arianna sent along a small gift for you as a token of her esteem, Your Majesty." Lady Kluge held out a small flat package, elegantly wrapped and beribboned, the seal of the Duchy of Weselton embossed on the wrapping paper.

Elsa took it and nodded her head in thanks. Lady Kluge smiled and left to chat with some of the other guests.

"I wonder what she sent," mused the Bishop.

Hefting the package, Elsa murmured, "Too light to be a bomb." She smiled to show she was joking and the Bishop stifled a snort at her black humor. The old Duke might have sent a bomb, but Elsa had come to feel that Arianna was a potential friend, both to Arendelle and Elsa personally. "I'll open it later."

Anna and Kristoff were munching dainty sandwiches and other treats at the buffet table. They were just the right size for Anna, but tended to disappear in Kristoff's hand. As a Guild Master, Kristoff was a member of the Trade Council and would attend the opening of the negotiations in the morning. It was a mostly ceremonial meeting, as the actual negotiations would be done by a smaller group who specialized in trade agreements.

"So, what do you think? Is this going to work? Six months ago we were at war with Weasel … I mean, Weselton. Now we're going to be all chummy?" Kristoff fought down an impulse to tug at his collar. He always chafed in his formal suits, even though Anna thought he looked dreamy in them.

"Elsa hopes so. I think she feels Arianna can be trusted, even though they only met for a couple of days. Sending the Duke off to Botany Bay certainly helped endear her to Elsa." Anna stuffed another chocolate in her mouth. "Mmmm, I love these cherry cordials!"

Baron Thorstad chose that moment to approach Anna and Kristoff, in company with another man Anna didn't recognize.

Bowing to Anna, the Baron said, "Your Highness, Master Bjorgman, may I present Monsieur Robin Pierre? His import/export house brings in some of the most exquisite liquors and confections for Arendelle."

Pierre bowed and added, "In fact, Your Highness, I am pleased to say that your staff here is one of our best customers." He glanced at the table and said, "The cordials and marzipan, for instance, are some of our most popular imports." He beamed in pride.

"Well, Monsieur, I can certainly attest to the quality of your wares!" Anna gushed enthusiastically. Kristoff remained stoically silent at her side. Thorstad was not one of his favorite people and he didn't know Pierre at all.

Continuing, Pierre said, "In fact, I am considering bringing more awareness of our imports to your kingdom as spring approaches."

"How?" Anna asked.

"It occurs to me that a series of events, call them 'tasting parties', hosted by members of the nobility, would allow the guests to sample our wares and compare them while enjoying the company of their peers," Pierre explained.

"That sounds quite exciting, Monsieur. I'm sure it would prove to be very popular," Anna commented.

"Baron Thorstad has agreed to host one of the first such parties. Perhaps we could hope that you join us?" Pierre suggested.

"I look forward to your invitation!" Anna was always intrigued by the prospect of a party.

Pierre and Thorstad bowed and took their leave. Kristoff finished his dainty sandwich with a second bite and a sour look on his face.

"What's that look for?" Anna asked, as she reached for another cherry cordial. Kristoff was never exuberant at formal gatherings, especially those Elsa put on, because he felt like he was an exhibit to be gawked at. He was more comfortable with them now, but if he had his druthers, he and Anna would be spending time with his family or ice skating or anything else that didn't require mirror-polishing his boots and wearing a cravat. He was painfully aware that many of the upper classes thought his courtship of Anna was an abomination, and watched him for any faux pas.

"The Baron just rubs me the wrong way. Not sure exactly why. Maybe because of the way he talked down to me that day he implied that I got elected Guild Master just because I'm courting you."

They had discussed the incident when it happened. Anna wasn't that fond of the Baron either, and she was rightfully indignant at any implication that Kristoff didn't deserve his leadership of the Ice Guild. It occurred to Anna that she should probably discuss it with Elsa – anything political that touched on the Royal Family was important to Elsa, particularly Anna and Kristoff. Now that her sister was back, as soon as they got past this trade negotiation she'd make sure to talk to Elsa about it.

"Ignore him, Kristoff. We had this discussion, remember? You, me, Elsa. The only people whose opinions matter." Anna tried to reassure him yet again.

"Yeah, I know." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and considered for about the thousandth time how lucky he was. "It's just … hard, sometimes. You know."

Anna did know. She wrestled with her insecurity demons probably more often than Kristoff did with his. She trusted his feelings more than she trusted her own sometimes. And every so often she let herself compare herself to her sister, and be found wanting.

"Come on, let's go. We've done our duty as Royal show ponies, the party is winding down, and Elsa can close it out in her own regal fashion without us." Anna grabbed Kristoff's hand and started for the doors before Elsa could find her and make her be all princess-y for a few more hours.

Kristoff didn't need any convincing.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

What with the opening session of the Trade negotiations requiring her presence the next morning, it wasn't until after lunch that Elsa found time to open the gift sent along by Duchess Arianna. When she did, she winced and called for Kai immediately.

"Kai, please send a message to Admiral Naismith and Colonel Nordholm. I need to meet with them at their earliest convenience, sooner if possible. Here, in my study."

He left to get the message to the Admiralty offices while Elsa reexamined Arianna's 'gift'. Despite her joke earlier it was indeed a bomb._ "A bomb with a lit fuse,"_ Elsa thought grimly.

When she had unwrapped it, she found a lengthy letter describing some unsettling information that the Duchess had come across while auditing her father's files and accounts.

"_Your Majesty, I feel compelled to share this information with you as further evidence of my good faith to build a fruitful alliance with Arendelle,"_ the letter began. Elsa had time to reread it twice more before the Admiral and Colonel Nordholm arrived, ushered into her study by Kai.

"Sit, gentlemen. We have something troubling to discuss," Elsa said as she waved them to chairs facing her desk. "It appears that the new Duchess of Weselton was auditing her father's files when she came across some information relevant to certain … events that we haven't been able to unravel. She discovered that the Duke apparently employed a professional assassin on several occasions, the most recent suspiciously close to the attempt on my life in January."

Elsa gave the two men a quick summary of the contents of the letter, then passed it over to Colonel Nordholm.

"So, this person, uh, Grár? Is that an alias, I wonder, or is that his real name?" Nordholm was reading while thinking out loud. "It appears that he has several names, based on the bookkeeping entries the Duchess found."

"Although they all seem to be variations on Grár: John Grey, Johannes Grau, and so on. Very … nondescript," Elsa commented.

"Yes," mused the Admiral. "Frankly, I'm surprised the Duke was so careless as to leave a paper trail like that."

"Well, it's not like he ever expected his own daughter to depose him, after all. She mentions that the accounts were hidden in a special safe in his study. When she found the safe, she had to have it broken into because he certainly didn't leave the key behind." Nordholm continued to read the letter.

"So, it appears that the Duke had in fact made another attempt on my life after the fiasco in October," Elsa fumed. "I'm glad I didn't know that when we sailed to Weselton, or that discussion might have ended before we had a chance to meet his daughter."

"Indeed, Your Majesty," agreed Naismith. "The question is, now what do we do with this information? Colonel?"

Nordholm was looking at the ceiling deep in thought, while tapping the letter in his palm. He said, "I … think that my people need to take this information and see if they can tie it back to anything else in our files, anything that may have been documented during the first investigation of that vile attempt on your life, Your Majesty. It was six weeks ago, it's unlikely this man is still in the kingdom. He probably stayed inconspicuous for a few days or a week, when the furor died down, then left as quickly as he could."

"Lars, be careful not to jump to conclusions," said Naismith.

"I won't. Nor will my people. Your Majesty, if I may? I'd like to get back to the Admiralty and get my people working on this quickly."

Elsa nodded her assent and Nordholm left.

"So, that is quite … troubling," the Queen mused. Elsa had a gift for understatement.

"Yes. Let us hope that the Colonel's people are able to tease something useful out of this message," Naismith said. "Although, considering the sheer amount of information we gathered during the investigation, it will take some time." He stood and bowed. "I'll take my leave, Your Majesty. I may need to assign more people to the Colonel to aid in this effort."

After he left, Elsa walked to her window and stood looking out over the fjord. The letter had brought back painful memories of the assassination attempt. Her father's tutoring had emphasized that no ruler in the history of the world was beloved by everyone; it was still hard to realize that the Duke had hated her and her magic so much that he had made not one but two attempts on her life. She wrapped her arms around her middle and shuddered.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

As it happened, Johannes Grau was still in Arendelle, although he wasn't planning on staying much longer.

Before sailing off to Botany Bay, the Duke had managed to send a missive to Grau by way of Pierre's trading house, buried in the routine correspondence that would pass in the course of normal trade. It was a bitter condemnation of Grau's failure and a demand for a refund, to be sent to the Duke in his new home.

Grau had burned the letter as soon as it was read. He was smart enough not to leave a paper trail. It hadn't occurred to him that the Duke was not so meticulous about security and would have files with 'Grau's' various names spelled out.

"Well, are you going to send him his money? Or make another attempt to earn it?" Pierre asked sourly as he watch Grau's letter burn in a wastebasket.

"Neither. It eats at me to have failed, but trying again makes no sense and is too risky for little reward. And it's not like he's going to be able to sue me for performance failure, now is it?"

Pierre grunted. "Well, are you going back to the Duchy? Or … staying here, or … ?"

Grau looked thoughtful. "I think it is time that I bid a fond farewell to the snowy wonderland that is Arendelle. After six weeks, there is no investigation continuing into the assassination attempt, so there will be no suspicion if I leave. Back to Lübeck, I think. With as much activity as there is in and out of Lübeck, one more passenger on a merchant ship is not worthy of attention." He looked at his associate. "Shall I arrange for another shipment of marzipan? The last one sold out pretty quickly."

"Yes. The Royal kitchens are good customers, and they set the fashionable standards, followed slavishly by the rest of the nobility," Pierre agreed.

"Mon ami, you are so critical of the royalty, yet your entire livelihood is based on catering to their tastes!" exclaimed Grau.

"And then killing them," growled Pierre.

"Well, yes, that too," agreed Grau. "I am sorry I missed taking out the Snow Queen, but now at least you have something to look forward to."

"Good travels, Johan. If I need your services, I will send a letter to you in Lübeck."

The two men shook hands and Grau left. Pierre returned to his ledgers.

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

Elsa had finally returned to what Anna called her _'things for the Queen to do because the Princess can't'_ basket. She had read over the proposal Baron Thorstad had presented and thought that it might have some merit. If she were going to put the power of the Royal Purse behind it though, there were some provisions Elsa would insist on that might not sit well with the nobility. Like employee ownership shares for instance. So that the people actually doing the work might share in the profits of their labors. Elsa and Arianna had discussed the concept when they had agreed on the outline for the new trade agreement. The new Duchess intended to incorporate employee shares in the reorganized enterprises of Weselton, hoping to bootstrap more prosperity for the people who had created all the wealth.

Unfortunately, dull economics were the most pleasant thing in her basket. There were at least three diplomatic notes that carried a rather hostile overtone, all of the letters mentioned her recent excursion into Weselton as of some concern to them. They were strongly warning the Snow Queen off from any expansionist ideas she might have of invading their kingdoms.

"As if I could. I'm only mortal, after all," thought Elsa. "One well aimed musket, and that's the end of the Snow Queen. You'd think they'd realize that."

"Yeah, well, rational thought sort of flees when people are scared." Anna stood in the doorway, frowning.

"Did I say that out loud?" asked Elsa.

"Yeah, you did. Catching up on the diplomatic notes, I guess, huh?" Anna came to stand next to her sister and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. Depressing reading," Elsa muttered as she put her own hand on Anna's.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"All I can do is write back to them, explain that Arendelle is not looking to become a conquering empire, and that all we want is good relationships and free trade with our neighbors."

"Think they'll buy it?"

"I … don't know. We haven't done anything aggressive – we were the ones attacked. Instead of revenge, the Weselton trip resulted in a more productive alliance with the new Duchess."

"That news hasn't spread much, yet. Although once we announce the new trade agreement, it should help a lot."

"Oh, Anna, I don't know what to do, this is my worst nightmare," Elsa groaned. _"Literally my worst nightmare, although I can't tell Anna that."_

"I think there is only one thing to do," Anna suggested.

"What?"

"Go raid the kitchen. I think there is some chocolate and marzipan left over from the gathering last night."

"You go ahead. I just … don't have any appetite," Elsa replied.

Anna knelt next to her sister and looked up at her. "Okay, where is my sister and what have you done with her? Elsa would never pass up chocolate and marzipan!"

"I'm sorry, Anna. I just … can't." Elsa realized she hadn't filled Anna in on the note from the Duchess about the assassin. But she just didn't have the mental energy to deal with that all over again. Tomorrow. They'd talk about it tomorrow.

Reluctant as she was to leave Elsa in this mood, Anna finally gave in and left without her.

With the door closed behind her sister and her footsteps fading down the hall, Elsa put her head down on her crossed arms and tried to ignore the headache that had come on. It didn't work. She finally gave up and left to go to her room. She felt exhausted, maybe an early bedtime would let her recover. She sent word that she'd be skipping dinner and was not to be disturbed until the morning.

It was a futile hope. The dreams, The Dream, came to her again, destroying any hope of sleep. She woke up gasping in a cold sweat.

Throwing off her blankets, she got up and went to sit in the window bay, struggling to make sense of why her dreams kept haunting her with visions of a tyrannical Elsa condemning innocents to captivity or death._ "Our neighbors seem to consider me a potential tyrant; could my own mind sense something monstrous lurking within me?"_

All she wanted was for Arendelle to be safe and prosperous. The Duke had attacked; she remembered explaining to Anna how Arendelle had to show it would resist invasion and make attackers regret their actions. Yet, paradoxically, that seemed to be making her kingdom less safe. Why couldn't other kingdoms accept Arendelle's good intentions? Accept that all they wanted was peace?

She had no answers.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

It had been two weeks since the Duchess of Weselton's revelation about the assassin hired by her father had been turned over to Colonel Nordholm and his analysts. Two weeks of painstaking reading of all the notes and documents that had been produced in January as the attempted murder of the Queen and her sister was investigated. Reading notebooks written by officers with bad handwriting and worse spelling. Looking for any mention of someone named 'Grau', or 'Gray' or 'Grár'. The assassin's choice of names was clever – it was a common name in almost any language of northern Europe, so there was more than one person that needed to be tracked down and cross-referenced.

Admiral Naismith looked up to see Colonel Nordholm standing in his doorway, a thick portfolio in his hand. "Time for another review, Lars?" He waved him to close the sturdy, soundproof door and take a seat.

"Yes, sir." Nordholm laid the portfolio on the desk for the Admiral to peruse at his leisure.

"Well?"

"It's pretty frustrating. We found mention of two Johannes Graus, one J. Grau, a John Gray, another Jon Grey, and one Jon Grár. Nothing stands out about any of them, but we haven't finished cross checking against other names that we might have suspicions about. It's unlikely that the man worked totally alone. He must have had contacts here, someone to shelter him or provide him with resources."

"Do you need more people?"

"Frankly, no. The more people, the less likely one person will read the two bits of information that need to be put together in this puzzle. No, right now I need to let them finish sifting through the dross looking for that one nugget that makes sense of this."

"I'll trust your judgment. Anything else going on that we need to know about?"

"One troubling accident, if it was an accident," replied Nordholm. A raised eyebrow was the Admiral's only reaction. Lars continued, "As you know, we try to put people into positions to keep their eyes open looking for funny business, mostly for smuggling and other customs violations. So, dockworkers, stevedores, warehouse workers, even tavern employees."

"Yes, and I know we've uncovered more than one smuggling ring that way. So?"

"One of my best men was killed in a warehouse accident two days ago. A rope broke, dropping a rather large barrel on him."

"What makes you think that's suspicious? Moving heavy things around on ships or in warehouses is dangerous if you're not paying attention."

"The day before his accident, he had sent us a note through the usual channel indicating he was on to something odd going on in his place of employment, and that he expected to be able to find out more the next day."

"And then he is killed in an 'accident'."

"Yes. I'm not a big believer in coincidences."

"Which trading house?"

Colonel Nordholm didn't need to check his notes. He didn't lose agents very often, and this one had been one of the first he had recruited. "Monsieur Pierre's."

Naismith thought for a moment. "Do we have anything else, anything at all, that would indicate that Pierre is playing fast and loose with customs regulations or any other … illegal activities?"

"No. He's been doing business here since about a year before the Queen's coronation, excellent reputation, well-connected with the nobility. Special relationship with Baron Thorstad, they are partners in several business enterprises."

"Not someone who would normally fall under suspicion of plotting an assassination," commented Naismith.

"Doesn't mean we're not going to look hard. Discreetly, but very, very closely." Nordholm's voice was grim. His agent had a family, three children, and his wife was pregnant. There was a special fund set up by the Queen, but that would only insure economic security. It wouldn't replace a husband and father.

"Be careful, Lars. We wouldn't want to tip our hand, IF there is something … odd … going on with Monsieur Pierre."

A grunt that might have been assent was Nordholm's only response. He stood, saluted, and left the Admiral to his thoughts.

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

The invitation to the 'wine tasting' had come to the castle two days after the affair welcoming the Weselton delegation. One for Anna, and one for the Queen. It was scheduled for a Saturday at the end of February.

"Elsa, why won't you go?" Anna had tried to wheedle her sister into coming along for the party. "You need to have some fun where you're not the hostess. Who knows? Maybe you'll pick up some juicy gossip from tipsy nobles!"

Elsa smiled at her sister's enthusiasm. "No, honey, I'm too busy with the trade negotiations and all the other diplomacy filling my plate. You and Kristoff go, enjoy yourselves. I know it will be more fun for you if I'm not there watching you, don't deny it."

Anna blushed; Elsa was correct. Her big sister always had a slight … very slight … inhibiting effect on the Princess.

Continuing, Elsa said, "Having said that, I expect you and Kristoff to be very careful NOT to get 'tipsy', as you put it. Most of the people at this party are fine with your courtship; the ones who aren't will be looking for reasons to gossip about the unsuitability of an ice harvester and the Princess becoming engaged."

Pouting, Anna replied, "We'll be careful, I promise." Then her smile came back as she said, "I think Kristoff needs a new suit. Shopping! Yay!"

The Queen chuckled as Anna ran off to find Kristoff. Elsa suspected he wouldn't share Anna's enthusiasm at the prospect of another visit to the tailor.

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

"Your Highness, you grace us with your presence!" Baron Thorstad bowed and kissed Anna's hand as he greeted her at the door to his manor. Both Kristoff and Anna were dressed in their party best.

Anna blushed at the Baron's courtesy, she always did when someone kissed her hand. His butler took her wrap and Kristoff's overcoat, then the Baron led them into the large room where the samples were laid out on tables lining the walls. Servants stood ready to pour, provide clean glassware, and present trays with samples of chocolates, marzipan, and other sweets to the guests.

Rob Pierre was bustling from table to table, checking that everything was ready. Anna and Kristoff were one of the first couples to arrive. The Baron was unsurprised to see that two Queen's Own accompanied them. Security on both the Queen and Princess had been strengthened after the Weselton attack in the fall.

Noticing that the Baron had returned from greeting his Royal guest, Pierre came over to bow and welcome Anna as well. "Your Highness, your grace and beauty make this a special event, indeed. All of Europe knows of the exquisite charm of the Arendelle Royal sisters."

He went on, "And although it is unfortunate that the Queen's duties prevented her from joining us, I have something special just for you. Perhaps you can take some samples back with you tonight to share with her."

Pierre gestured toward a doorway and led Anna, Kristoff and the Baron to the special tasting room.


	18. Hiding in Plain Sight

**CHAPTER 18 - Hiding in Plain Sight**

* * *

_"...at the time, King Herbert felt that to remain safe, the kingdom needed an effective intelligence force."  
_

_"An intelligent force?" said Will._

_"Not intelligent. Intelligence. Although it does help if your intelligence force was also intelligent."__  
_

_― John Flanagan, ___The Ruins of Gorlan __

* * *

There were no parties at the Admiralty on this weekend. Colonel Nordholm's staff had been working around the clock since they had been tasked with searching out any hint of 'Jon Grár'. Erik Jorgensen wasn't usually assigned to Nordholm's section; his regular job was being the Admiral's yeoman. But his long experience and quick mind had found him shanghaied into sifting through the notebooks and looking for connections.

It was late, almost twelve hours since Erik had come in that morning. Naismith had set a strict limit of twelve hours on duty for this task – fatigue could cause a tired mind to miss a clue, even an obvious clue. People could force their bodies to keep going doing physical tasks, but the brain wasn't so easily persuaded.

Glancing at the chronometer on the wall, Erik thought,_ "Well, time for one last notebook, then home to the missus, Erik me boy."_ He reached for another notebook from the pile on his desk. Noting the name of the Gendarmerie officer who created it, he jotted that name down on his notepad. He had several pages of notes from his day's work, anything that seemed significant as he puzzled out the cramped handwriting, personal abbreviations and bad spelling common in the source material. He flipped through the pages until he came to the January date of the attempted assassination, then he began to read slowly and carefully.

Ten pages into his reading, Erik sat up abruptly. This particular officer had interviewed one Johannes Grau at a coffee shop not that far from the sniper's nest they had found. Erik no more believed in coincidence than did the Colonel, but … he kept reading, jotting a note every few paragraphs. Finishing that particular interview, he put the notebook down, then looked over his own notes. The Gendarmerie officer had carefully documented the timeline that Grau had used to explain his whereabouts that day.

Erik sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling as he thought about what he had read. According to the timeline, there was no possibility that Grau was the assassin, assuming he was telling the truth. But, everyone who had made statements that could be construed as an alibi had those statements cross-checked for truth. He got up and walked over to a large map-board hanging on the wall. This had no map, just a large sheet of paper covered in tiny writing. Every name that had been interviewed was written down in alphabetical order. Every name had a series of numbers under it – the numbers identified the documents where their interviews were recorded. Every night, clerks updated this board based on the work done that day by the analysts.

Running his finger down the list until he found _'Grau, Johannes (a)'_ and _'Grau, Johannes (b)'_. Erik realized there were two men with the same name that had been interviewed. He checked the ID number on the notebook in his hand, and determined that (b) was the individual he was interested in. He noted the other two ID numbers written under that name. They would lead him to the notebooks where Grau's alibi was checked.

Erik collected the two notebooks from the files, returned to his desk and found the entries he was interested in. He took methodical notes, then returned all the source materials to their proper place for use by others.

The clock chimed, telling Erik his twelve hour shift was over. But he didn't leave. Still sitting at his desk, he looked over the notes he had taken, trying to make sense of them. Grau's alibi had been confirmed, but there was something … bothering Erik about the confirmation. He frowned, his concentration so intense he nearly jumped out of his chair when the Colonel walked up and said, "Time to go home, Erik."

"Loki's balls, Colonel, don't sneak up on an old man like that!" Erik grumbled. "And, I just need a few more minutes, sir. Might have something here, might not. Just trying to make sense of it." He handed the Colonel the notes he had taken. Nordholm flipped through the pages in a rather cursory way, but grunted when he got to the last page.

"Colonel?" Erik asked.

"I think you may have found something, indeed, Erik. Although to call it tenuous is being generous." Nordholm looked at Jorgensen and said, "Make a copy of these notes for me, then go home. We'll talk tomorrow. I need to follow up on something else that may tie all this together."

"Aye, aye, sir."

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

Elsa was in bed, reading a story by H. C. Andersen, a story of a mermaid who so loved someone that she was willing to sacrifice everything for them. She had first read the story five years ago, when she was 16, and the tale of love and sacrifice had spoken to her on a profound level.

Her immersion in the book was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Your Majesty?" It was Gerda.

"Yes, Gerda? What is it?"

"You asked to be informed when the Princess and Mr. Bjorgman returned."

A glance at the clock told Elsa that it was long past midnight. "And have they?"

"Not yet, but I have instructed the night guard to inform you when they do, since I am retiring now."

Elsa wasn't worried, not yet. Anna and Kristoff might be at the Guild Hall or maybe the Baron's party had run over the planned time. They had guards with them, after all, how much danger could there be? "Very well. Thank you, Gerda. I suspect I'll be dining alone for breakfast."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Good night."

Elsa returned to the story. When she finished, she set the book on her nightstand, doused her lamp, and fell asleep.

"Elsa, Elsa, wake up!"

"Oof!" Elsa woke up to the feeling of being squished. Anna wasn't five anymore, and jumping onto her sister was rather more … intense than it had been all those years ago.

"Anna, I love you, but really? I'm not a trampoline …" grumped Elsa as she struggled to push her sister off and sit up. Anna was still in her party gown, although she had apparently left her cloak elsewhere.

"But I brought you something! Here!" and Anna held out an elaborately wrapped box. A box full of delightful chocolate dainties and marzipan.

Elsa forgave her sister for the rude awakening after one bite. "Hmmm, I think Monsieur Pierre may have a winner here." Anna's grin lit up the room. "I take it the party was a success?"

"Yeah, we had a great time. Kristoff even smiled once. And I met a couple of new people that work with Monsieur Pierre, very continental and gallant Frenchmen. That made Kristoff frown – I think he got jealous." Anna giggled.

"But he knows he has no reason to be, right?" Elsa quirked an eyebrow at her sister. She understood how unsure of himself Kristoff could be in those kind of social situations and wasn't sure Anna paid close enough attention to that sometimes.

"Oh, yeah, I made sure he knows that!" Anna smirked. Elsa decided not to pursue it any further. She trusted Anna (Kristoff, really) to avoid scandal, and for the rest, well, don't ask questions you don't want answered seemed a prudent policy for these matters.

"Okay, honey. Thanks so much for the samples. I appreciate how hard it must have been for you to get them back here safely. Or, rather, uneaten."

Anna stuck out her tongue, and muttered, "Stinker!" then gave Elsa a quick peck on the cheek and left for her own bedroom with an airy wave and a, "Love you, sis. Night night!"

Only her iron discipline honed over thirteen years let Elsa eat just a single treat before she fell back asleep.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Monday morning found Elsa and Anna waiting in the Queen's study for Admiral Naismith and Colonel Nordholm to arrive. Naismith had sent a note the day before requesting the meeting to review the status of the search for Jon Grár.

Elsa finished reading a document, signed it, and placed it in her 'completed' basket. Anna was sitting in the window bay, watching the gulls over the fjord and humming a little tune. She hopped off the window and walked over to Elsa's desk, saying, "Tell me again why I need to be here? You know this is kind of early for me." Anna stifled a yawn, then went to pour herself a cup of coffee from the carafe on Elsa's sideboard. "You want one, too?" She gestured with her cup.

"Yes, thanks. And I would think you'd be interested in knowing about the man who almost killed us, Anna. Not to mention that as Regent, this is a matter of such importance that you should be involved in any case." Elsa watched warily as Anna walked across the study with a cup and saucer in each hand. A stumble would be catastrophic for the paper-strewn desk. But Anna managed to arrive safely and place her sister's coffee in front of her without mishap.

Frowning, Anna sat in a side chair and sipped her own beverage, then said, "You're right, of course. But sometimes it's so damn depressing to think someone's trying to kill you." Anna was so intent on not spilling her coffee she missed Elsa's wince at her words.

Kai knocked and announced Naismith and Nordholm before Elsa could make any comment to Anna. The two men entered, bowed, and took their seats.

"Well, Admiral? What have you found?" Elsa asked.

"Perhaps a link that ties the Duke's assassin to someone else in Arendelle. Colonel Nordholm will spell it out."

Clearing his throat, Nordholm began, "One of our analysts found that a Johannes Grau and Monsieur Rob Pierre have been business associates for several years. Grau is Pierre's conduit for imports from Hansestadt Lübeck, particularly marzipan. Pierre provided an alibi for Grau that seemed to prove that he could not be the sniper. Given their dealings together, normally there would be no reason to doubt that Pierre and Grau were being truthful. However, there has been a recent death of one of our agents in Pierre's warehouse, and his death came the very day after he had told us he might have stumbled on something 'odd'."

There was a thoughtful silence, then Elsa said, "That does seem tenuous, Colonel. Hardly a smoking gun, if you pardon the expression."

"It is, Your Majesty. When Grau was interviewed by the Gendarmerie on the day of the attack he told us that he arrived two weeks before the attack on you. From Weselton."

"Still nothing more than a wisp of a theory," Anna said, "How would you make this less … wispy?"

"Ordinarily, we would politely ask Herr Grau if he would be so kind as to help us clear up a discrepancy by answering a few more questions. Unfortunately, when we went to his inn to ask that he do so, we found that he left Arendelle a week ago on a merchant ship bound for Lübeck, where his papers indicated he maintains his business office," explained the Colonel. "And, in what could be simply one more coincidence, the ship is one of Monsieur Pierre's fleet."

"With whom he is a business associate, and whose ships ply most of the ports of Northern Europe. Still absolutely nothing that would support any charges of any sort in any court of law, Colonel," Elsa pointed out.

"Indeed, Your Majesty. And yet it is … coincidence matched with coincidence. It is a fact of life in security analysis that this sort of flimsy web is often all you find. And it is only after the fact that other flimsy or trivial events fill in the cracks and firm things up," explained the Admiral.

"So, what do you recommend?" asked Elsa.

"We have replaced our agent in Pierre's warehouse, warning him that suspicion may fall on him because of what happened to his predecessor. We will be keeping a very close eye on Monsieur Pierre, not only with warehouse workers but with members of the merchant class and gentry that he socializes with."

Elsa mouth fell open and her posture stiffened. "You have agents among the gentry?"

"And the nobility, Your Majesty. History demonstrates that most plots and coups start among those with power seeking even more power. And so we must have a watchful eye out for such secret plans," Naismith said.

Her mouth was a tight line as she bit her lip. He was right, of course. She was naive not to have realized it. Combing her fingers through her hair, she said, "Very well, Admiral, Colonel, I trust you with this task. Please keep me informed. If Grau is gone, it is unlikely that there will be any bullets flying at my head, at least until he returns." Elsa dismissed them, they bowed and left.

Elsa was so deep into her dismal thoughts that she almost forgot that Anna was still there. Rubbing her temples trying to soothe a headache that was beginning to build, she was startled when a gentle hand touched her shoulder and Anna said, "Hey, come on, Elsa. No wallowing."

"I can't help it. Grau may be gone. But if he's the one who tried to kill us, I doubt he's the only assassin for hire in Europe. And who knows who will hire one next? The Duke may be gone, but I keep getting diplomatic notes that sound strangely undiplomatic." Elsa began to wring her hands and went on, "If I were a normal person, none of this –" Elsa was stopped by Anna grabbing her shoulder and pulling her around so they were face to face.

"Stop it! You **are** normal, never say that you aren't!" Anna was angry now. She was thoroughly sick of the way Elsa thought of her magic as a curse and herself as a freak.

"Anna, you are the only person in the world who thinks that. We have to face reality. If it weren't for my power, Arendelle would be the sleepy, happy kingdom it was under Papa." Elsa stood and began to pace back and forth in front of the window, continuing to wring her hands.

"Elsa, it may have been sleepy, but it's a lot happier now than it was then!" Anna insisted.

"You don't know that. I've frozen the kingdom almost into oblivion, we were invaded and almost looted into starvation, we have people running around trying to kill us –"

"Elsa, you thawed the kingdom with no ill effects, the invasion failed, you've set us up for a really good trade agreement with Weselton, and we're not dead!"

"Yet."

Hands on her hips, Anna huffed in exasperation. "Elsa, we all die eventually. LIVE, honey, live every day and stop worrying about what might have been."

"It's my job to worry!"

"And you're doing a fine job of it!"

"Somebody has to!"

This was rapidly degenerating into an argument Anna didn't want. Sad experience had taught her that when Elsa got into a spiral like this, breaking off and disengaging was the best way to avoid iced-over bedroom doors and tear-soaked bedclothes. Tear-soaked for both of them.

Softening her voice, Anna tried to sound conciliatory. "Okay, I know it's tough. Even the little bit I do for you is tough, I keep forgetting how hard it is to be you, having to spend every minute of every day being the Queen. Please, Elsa, let's just go down to dinner, then relax in the library and enjoy the last of the chocolates from the party. Okay?"

She approached the Queen, who was standing by the window, arms wrapped around her middle, huddled into herself. Anna laid her cheek on Elsa's shoulder and whispered, "Please?"

Elsa finally nodded and let Anna lead her down to dinner.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

After dinner the two women went to the library for tea. Gerda had set up a tray with not only the remaining treats from the tasting party but cookies and krumkakes. She had noticed how much food had remained on Elsa's plate and decided that more dessert would help.

Elsa sat with her feet drawn up on the couch, nibbling a cookie. Anna was laying on the floor, head toward the fireplace, arms splayed out to her sides, her feet up on the part of the couch not occupied by Elsa.

"Elsa?"

"Mmmm?"

"I have a great idea."

A sigh. "Okay, about what, exactly?"

"Helping the Admiral and the Colonel flush out the bad guys. You know, see if Monsieur Pierre had anything to do with it?"

Elsa sat up and glared at her sister. "No."

Propping herself up on her elbows, Anna pouted and said, "Why not? I've got an 'in' with that Pierre guy – he's already invited me to a couple more of his parties, I bet I could snoop around and figure out – "

Elsa sat up even straighter, leaned over and almost shouted, "NO, Anna! You aren't trained for this and it would be incredibly dangerous. Assuming Pierre IS one of the conspirators who helped Grau! Which we don't know!"

"But you heard how hard it is to get anyone close to this guy! That agent died, and the next one is going to be watched with suspicion. He won't suspect me, I'm just the empty-headed Princess!" snapped Anna. She rolled over and stood up, glaring at her sister. Softening her expression, she added, "I bet I could get Kristoff to help –"

"NO!" Elsa stood up and did shout this time. "You can't tell Kristoff any of this, do you hear me? It's too dangerous!"

"That doesn't make any sense, Elsa." Anna crossed her arms and pouted as her sister began to pace again.

"Don't you see? We can't say or do anything that would arouse Pierre's suspicions. If he thinks we think he's involved in something … dubious, he'll pull in his horns and lay low until enough time has passed that we give up and move on to other suspects."

"What's that got to do with Kristoff?"

Elsa began to pace. "He … wouldn't be able to fake being comfortable with Pierre. Any time he saw him, he would be trying so hard to be casual about it that it would be screamingly obvious that there was something going on. Kristoff is too honest for his own good, he's probably the most honest, guileless man in this kingdom." She stopped and turned to her sister, her arms extended. "If you told him, you'd be putting HIM at risk of an 'accident'."

She added, "For that matter, you're not much better hiding your feelings than Kristoff is. Why do you think you keep losing at whist? You can't hide it when you have good cards. So, NO, you will not play amateur spy!"

"Hmph." Anna huffed and plopped down on the couch, then reached for a cookie and stuffed it in her face to give her time to think up a good counter-argument.

Elsa paced back and forth a couple of times, then sat down next to Anna. "And … I think you shouldn't go to any more of those parties, for the same reason. It's too dangerous if we don't know what Pierre is up to. If he was in league with the Duke and Grau, he could kidnap you or something worse if you keep giving him opportunities."

"Elsa, that's not fair! That party was a lot of fun! What can happen at a party, I've got at least two guards trailing around behind me. Who would be so foolish as to try something dumb with them glowering over my shoulder?"

"No, Anna, I'm going to insist. Stay away from Pierre from now on. No parties. No spying."

"You're not my mother, Elsa!" Anna jumped up, her voice high-pitched and shrill.

Elsa drew herself up into her most regal persona. "No, but I am your Queen and you WILL obey me!"

"You're impossible!" Anna stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Elsa watched her go, dismayed that she had let her emotions get the better of her and push Anna away. She sat heavily on the couch and put her face in her hands. "Please, Anna, don't do anything foolish, I can't lose you!"

But Anna wasn't there to hear her plea.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Neither woman got much sleep that night, although Anna did manage to stumble down for breakfast the next morning, bleary-eyed and yawning.

Elsa tried to be conciliatory. "Honey, I'm sorry I was so … hard on you last night. It's just … you know how I worry, I can't help it."

Anna looked at her sister over the rim of the coffee cup she clutched in both hands. "I know, Elsa, I know. I'm sorry I was such an ass. I didn't sleep much, I was thinking about what you said and all the stuff I've been reading when you leave me as Regent and all the briefings I've gotten from the Admiral. You're right. About Kristoff. And … probably all the rest of it." She put the cup down and said, "I just wanted to help, to feel like I was doing something."

"Anna, you ARE doing something! Never doubt it! When I had to sail off to Weselton the last thing I worried about was Arendelle, because I knew I was leaving it in good hands!" Elsa tried to get through Anna's self-doubt. She hung her head and mumbled, "Sometimes I think Arendelle would be better off if you were the Queen instead of me."

This shocked Anna wide awake. "Elsa, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You're going to be the Queen for 75 years and only then do you get to turn it over to my grandchildren, because my children will be too old!"

Elsa looked away, not meeting Anna's eyes.

"Hey, listen to me, will you? You're doing a great job as queen. By the time my grandchild takes the throne, you'll be known as 'Elsa the Great and Wonderful Even If She's Sometimes Moody'. You'll see that I'm right!"

Shaking her head, Elsa had to chuckle at the ridiculous title. "Oh, Anna, please never change. You're the only bright thing in my life sometimes."

Smirking at her success at breaking Elsa's bad mood, Anna reached to pour herself more coffee and knocked the carafe over to spill the contents onto Elsa. "Oops."

There were some advantages to having magic powers – Elsa waved her hand, froze the coffee, then waved it into the ether with another gesture. "No problem, honey."

As they continued with breakfast, Anna could see that Elsa's mood had only lightened for a brief time. The conversation lagged and her sister's brow became furrowed again as she avoided meeting Anna's scrutiny.

"Elsa, what's wrong? You're drifting away again."

The Queen reached to pour another cup of coffee. Anna was dismayed to see that her hands were trembling slightly as she brought the cup to her lips.

"You're avoiding my question, Elsa. Please? Don't shut me out." Anna usually saved that plea as a last resort. This seemed like an appropriate time, if Elsa's flinch at her words were any indication.

"There's something I haven't been telling you … something that's troubled me for months. I'm sorry, Anna, I just didn't want to burden you with it." Elsa placed her cup on the saucer, then balled her fists and put them in her lap. She still couldn't meet Anna's eyes, looking down and to the side while biting her lip.

"Elsa, please, let me help. You're not a burden, you'd never be a burden to me. What's been bothering you?"

"Dreams. Dreams that I'm a monster, a tyrant, a conqueror just like the ones those diplomatic notes keep talking about." Elsa's voice was soft, resigned now that she was sharing her nightmares with her sister.

"But you're not a monster!"

"I've killed people, Anna. In that battle, I killed men with my magic."

"It was a battle, Elsa! They were trying to kill you! That's self-defense, not murder." Anna was trying to get through Elsa's guilt and disgust with herself. "And you were trying to protect your guards, too."

"But I could kill again. I was so angry with the Duke I'm not sure what I would have done if I knew he had sent that killer after us." Elsa hung her head. "I can see why those diplomatic notes are so full of fear of Arendelle's intentions. Maybe they're right to be afraid of Arendelle. I am Arendelle; they're afraid of me."

Anna didn't know what to say to break this grim mood of Elsa's.

Finally, she said, "Elsa, I'm sorry you didn't share this with me earlier; I can't imagine how hard it's been for you carrying this around inside. All I can say is, you're not a monster. You are one of the most selfless, caring people in the world. I love you. A lot of people love you, including most of the kingdom."

She got up and walked to her sister and wrapped her in a hug. "You are the kindest, gentlest, warmest person ever, and I won't let you marinate in this guilt, do you hear me?"

"Marinate? You make it sound like I'm a herring ready for pickling." Elsa actually chuckled at her own joke.

"More like lutefisk, honey. Dry and salty." A quick kiss on her sister's hair and Anna returned to her seat and was glad to see Elsa smile at her riposte. "Let's get some fresh food, this has gone cold."

After fresh helping of eggs and bacon, the ambiance returned to a more congenial one with small talk about Olaf's latest antics in the city and other topics less fraught with issues of life and death.

As they finished the meal, Elsa asked, "What are your plans for today? I've got meetings the entire time reviewing what's going on in the trade negotiations."

"I was planning on spending the day with Kristoff. First at the Guild House, then lunch, then … whatever. He told me they were planning something big for the Spring Equinox Festival." Anna looked at her sister and went on, "Why don't you plan on another ice skating rink in the courtyard? This will be the first Festival since your Coronation; we should go all out. Impress the folks from Weselton."

Nodding, Elsa said, "That's a good idea. I'll let the planning committee know." She sipped the rest of her coffee, dabbed her lips with her napkin and got up to leave. "Have fun, okay? Say hi to Kristoff for me."

"Okay. See you at dinner." Anna waved her fork in farewell and promptly dropped a blob of eggs in her coffee. "Drat!"

Elsa giggled as she went to wrestle with her bottomless 'things to do' basket.


	19. Fear Will Be Your Enemy

_[March 1, 1841]_

_"In everybody's life there's a point of no return. And in a very few cases, a point where you can't go forward anymore. And when we reach that point, all we can do is quietly accept the fact. That's how we survive."  
_**― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore**

For a March day in Arendelle, the weather wasn't bad. Temperatures barely below freezing, high thin clouds that let a watery sunshine through, wind calm enough that Anna didn't have to worry about being blown into the fjord. She walked toward the Ice Guild hall, her guard contingent numbering four today. Anna really didn't mind the guards any more – she minded the reason they were necessary. _"But if that Grau or Grar or whatever his name is has left Arendelle, there shouldn't be any reason for guards, should there?"_ she thought with a sour grimace.

Kristoff was glad to see her, and invited her to sit in on the planning session for the Spring Festival. There were several ice harvesters sitting around the table in the meeting room, and they greeted Anna with enthusiasm – she was a frequent visitor.

"We've got two things to celebrate – first year as a guild, and first year the Queen's opened the gates. We need to do something special! Make our mark!" The excited harvester pounded the table for emphasis.

A second man said, "How about an ice carving competition? We do that for our own amusement; let's show off to the kingdom."

"Great idea." There were mutters and nods of agreement around the table, so Kristoff asked, "All in favor?"

"Yeah."

"Aye"

"Anyone not in favor?" A moment of silence, then Kristoff said, "Okay, we'll be sponsoring an ice carving competition, with prizes. I think the new guild treasury can afford a few kroner."

Anna spoke up, "And just so you all know, Elsa will be creating the skating rink in the castle courtyard again, so plan on bringing your skates!" This announcement was met with enthusiasm – skating was another skill the ice harvesters liked to show off.

The rest of the meeting went quickly. The group listed the lakes that needed to be surveyed for the best ice, before the weather got too warm. It was still too cold for there to be any real market for ice – May was when business started picking up, so April was when the harvesters started building up their stockpiles for sale later in the summer. By July, they'd be working the lakes high in the mountains, above the snow line where it never thawed.

Kristoff held Anna's cloak for her, then grabbed his own overcoat and put on his hat. "Let's go get some lunch, Feisty Pants. Meetings make me hungrier than cutting ice for some reason."

"Me, too. Ugh, meetings are the worst part of being in charge when Elsa is gone. Even reading dull reports isn't as bad." Anna agreed.

They were finishing dessert at their favorite inn when Monsieur Georges Couthon walked up and said, "Your Highness, Ice Master, how nice to see you again." Couthon had been introduced as the Marquis d'La Montagne at the tasting party, and was one of the 'very continental and gallant Frenchmen' that Anna had mentioned to Elsa when recounting the events of the party. He was also a business associate of Rob Pierre.

"Why, hello, Georges! What a pleasant surprise!" Anna greeted him with a smile.

Kristoff bobbed his head, with a determinedly neutral expression, to acknowledge the man. Couthon had spent too much time being gallant to Anna at the party for Kristoff's tastes, even though Anna assured him that she only had eyes for her Ice Master. The man was a fop, dressed in an elegant suit that Kristoff though was more appropriate for a ball than just wandering around town. And he smelled of cologne. How decadent was that?

"I had hoped that we would meet again. The event was so very much fun, and it was the perfect opportunity to meet some of Arendelle's aristocracy. May I join you for few moments?" Couthon smiled at them most engagingly.

"Oh, sure, sit down, we were just going to order coffee. Or hot chocolate. Or maybe both!" Anna's enthusiasm for the hot chocolate made it clear which one she would prefer.

Once they had been served their beverages, Couthon asked Kristoff, "So, Monsieur Bjorgman. How goes the planning for the summer ice season?"

The question startled Kristoff – it had never occurred to him that someone of noble birth like the Marquis would know or care how the working class made its living. "Uh, well enough for now. We're surveying the likely lakes, closer ones for April and May, moving further up the mountains as the weather gets warm." He took a sip of his coffee and said, "I'm surprised it's of interest to you, uh, Georges."

Couthon laughed. "But of course it is, mon ami. My business partner has plans to introduce iced drinks for the warm summer months, and one cannot have iced drinks without ice, after all."

Anna's eyes got wide as she thought this over. Iced drinks to cool off in the summer. An Arendelle summer was short, but July and August could get oppressively hot and muggy. Why hadn't anyone thought this up before? "Well, that sounds like … a wonderful idea, Georges."

"Cool drinks are well known in Europe – and it should increase the demand for ice, Guild Master. Something I thought you would appreciate knowing, eh?" Couthon's expression was sly, and for a moment Kristoff could have sworn he winked at him, as though sharing a secret.

"Ah, that is something we need to take into account, assuming your business plan actually works, that is." Kristoff wasn't as sure as Anna that Arendelle would embrace the novelty. On the other hand, if the enthusiasm shown at the tasting party they had attended was any indication, perhaps novelty did have some appeal.

After chatting about kingdom gossip for several minutes, the Marquis finished his coffee, dabbed at his lips with his napkin, then stood and bowed to Anna. "As always, ma cherie, it was a delight to see you again. I look forward to the next time. Au revoir!" He departed, leaving Anna and Kristoff both in a thoughtful silence, although for different reasons.

Anna was wondering if Elsa's prohibition against trying to get closer to Pierre extended to the Marquis. After all, as a close business associate of Pierre's, Georges would likely know about any plots and machinations, wouldn't he? She decided that Elsa had named Pierre as someone to stay away from but that Georges was fair game. She smirked at her own cleverness as she sipped at her chocolate.

Kristoff was trying to figure out why Couthon would give him the information about the marketing plans of Pierre. A little thought told him why – if the Guild underestimated demand for ice, the price would rise, maybe high enough to put a damper on the popularity of those iced drinks. Ice would have to be cheap enough to make it something people would do every day. Further thought made Kristoff realize they'd either have to bring more ice down more often, or figure out a way to keep it from melting without insulating it with sawdust. Sawdust wasn't something you'd want in a drink. He needed to talk this over with the others, there were implications that needed to be hashed out.

"Hey, Kristoff!" Anna poked his arm. "What's so interesting about the ceiling?"

"Uh, nothing. Just thinking over what he said about the iced drinks."

"Yeah, doesn't that sound great? Wonder why we never thought of that before?" Anna commented. Kristoff didn't say anything, so she shrugged and went back to fantasizing about unmasking the evil Pierre by weaseling her way into his secrets by way of the Marquis.

"Hey, Anna!" Kristoff tried to get her attention. "You went away. What's so important you disappeared?"

"Nothing, nothing, you know me, flighty, daydreamy ..." Anna remembered Elsa's warning not to get Kristoff involved.

Kristoff snorted. "Yeah, Feisty Pants. Or, should I say, 'Regent Princess'? There may still be one or two people in this kingdom that think you're a vapid fluff head, but Mama Bulda's fair-haired boy isn't one of them."

Anna smacked him playfully on his arm and stuck her tongue out to let him know what she thought of that observation. Kristoff just smirked and waved for a server to bring another round of hot chocolate.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

While Kristoff and Anna enjoyed an afternoon of snacks and chocolate beverages, Elsa was meeting with Admiral Naismith to discuss the ongoing diplomatic problems of Arendelle.

"We received another diplomatic note that threatens 'full and effective resistance to Arendellian aggression', Admiral." Elsa was sitting at her desk, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to push back on a growing headache. "I don't know what else to say in response, except 'we have no intention of aggression against ANYONE, much less you!'" She sighed, then sat back in her chair and glared at the Admiral. "WHY do they think Arendelle, no, **I**, have any warlike intentions? Arendelle, is after all, only a small kingdom, with limited resources." Elsa realized her voice was rising in anger and she tried to control it.

"Because, Your Majesty, when analyzing the potential danger, the military ignores intention and looks to capability."

"But, we don't **have** a great military capability," Elsa protested.

"Ah, but we do, Your Majesty," Naismith explained. "We have … you."

That was the last thing Elsa wanted to hear, and it showed briefly on her face before she regained control of herself. "Do go on, Admiral." Her voice was level, composed, even though she wanted to scream her frustration at him.

"The people of Arendelle are few compared to the great nations of Europe, but we have a well-deserved reputation for fierce independence and a refusal to capitulate to invaders. The Duke's attempt was unique, based on a strategy that counted on your unwillingness to put the Princess Anna at risk." He fell into lecturing mode, as though he were in front of a class of young officers learning their trade. Naismith was a frustrated professor, never happier than when he was bringing enlightenment to the young. Normally, Elsa appreciated the things she could learn from him. Today …

"Their loyalty to you is also a factor – "

Elsa interrupted him. "Even after the fiasco where I almost destroyed the kingdom?"

"Even so, Your Majesty. The story of your years-long sacrifice for your sister, and the kingdom, once it became widely known, took on the stuff of legend. Then there was the Weselton invasion."

She simply raised an eyebrow in query.

Naismith knew how self-effacing Elsa was, knew she needed to hear it spelled out. "Queen Elsa, most royalty, most rulers of any sort, don't put themselves at risk. They send others to fight and die 'for Queen and Country'. **You** put your own body between this kingdom and an invading force intent on looting it into starvation. Don't you think that your people understand what you endured and just how close you came to death in order to save them?"

"Selfishly, to save Anna, rather," she muttered.

It was Naismith's turn to look exasperated. "We both know that was **a** factor, but not the **only** factor, Your Majesty. And your people know that, too. And they love you the more for it." He let her mull that over before continuing.

"So, were it to happen that Queen Elsa of Arendelle chose to become Empress of the World, your people would follow you with no hesitation. And from a military standpoint, it would be a straightforward effort. We would start slowly, conquering a neighboring kingdom that had more resources and a larger force than we have. With your magic, it could happen without firing a shot. Then another. By the third conquest, some would seek out alliance with us to avoid confrontation. It would, if you pardon the expression, snowball from there."

"But, I am not immortal. One bullet, well aimed, and the Snow Queen is no more!" Elsa protested. The picture he was painting horrified her. Elsa felt a ball of cold drop like a rock in her stomach, the pain in her head throbbed, a wave of panic ... panic like in her nightmare threatened to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was the Queen. She forced her feelings down and turned back to Naismith.

"Actually, a general leading troops into battle is often safer than one sitting back in the Capital. Look at Napoleon: led millions of troops in battle after battle, and died in exile, not of a bullet or a sword."

Elsa closed her eyes again and rubbed her temples. "You have not reassured me, Admiral. Quite the contrary, you have made these undiplomatic dispatches seem almost … rational." She got out of her chair and began to pace in front of the window overlooking the fjord. "How, then, would you advise me to proceed?"

"As we have done before, Your Majesty. Treat fairly with our neighbors, build alliances, turn potential enemies into friends, if possible. As you have done with Weselton." Naismith watched her pace with some concern – the temperature in the room was dropping rather precipitously. "Arendelle will defend itself, but aggression is not our policy and never has been. Eventually, when no conquering armies appear under the Crocus Banner, neighboring kingdoms will remember that."

She stopped pacing and returned to her desk, dropping rather heavily into her chair. "You're right. As irritating as it is, you're right. Thank you, Admiral."

He simply nodded his acknowledgment, then asked, "Do you wish to review the latest analysis from Colonel Nordholm's people at this time?"

"Is there anything new or worrisome in the report?" Progress on the search for possible assassins had stalled and no information was forthcoming from the agents in Monsieur Pierre's warehouses.

"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty."

"Then, leave it and I will review it later."

Naismith rose, bowed, and left Elsa to brood over the state of Arendelle's diplomatic problems.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

As Naismith's footsteps faded down the hallway, Elsa walked over to sit in the window bay and arranged herself comfortably, one knee drawn up and grasped in her hands, the other leg straight out. It was hardly a regal pose, but it was comfortable as she leaned back against the wall and sighed.

The scenario that her Admiral had spelled out was Elsa's worst nightmare. The people of Arendelle following her into conquest, cheering on their Snow Queen as she swept all before her. Worse, the scenario matched her dream all too well. **Was** she a monster? Was there some buried desire to be the 'Empress of the World'?

Elsa groaned and rested her forehead on her knee as this thought flashed through her mind. She had sacrificed her happiness and almost her sanity to protect her sister and the kingdom from what she still occasionally thought of as 'her curse'. Was it all for nothing? Was she condemned to forever be a lightning rod for fear and hate? Was Arendelle, and Anna, doomed to become victim to the predations of other kingdoms as they took action to preempt conquest by a sorceress? A conquering sorceress that only existed in their minds?

As she brooded, she remembered something she had read under her father's tutelage: _"Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem."_ She couldn't remember who said it, or what book she found it in, just remembered being appalled at the cynicism implied by the quote. Machiavelli, perhaps?

When she discussed it with her father, he frowned and agreed with her that it was cynical, but unfortunately had proven too often in history to be applied to certain problems of state. "Not here, Elsa, not in Arendelle. But … " His voice trailed off and he looked over her head in a distracted way. She wondered what he was remembering.

Apparently the Duke had read the same book, if his two attempts to kill her were any indication.

Shuddering, she stood and stalked out of her study. It was almost time for dinner, and she needed something to take the sour taste of war and battle out of her mouth. She needed Anna to cheer her up.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa felt better after listening to Anna's chatter over dinner. She thought she was concealing her dismay over the day's events well enough, but she should have known better. Anna had a finely-tuned 'Elsa mood detector', and eventually she got around to pressing her sister.

"You're worried about something, sis. Come on, what is it?" Anna demanded over dessert.

Trying to laugh it off didn't work, Elsa knew it wouldn't. She wondered why she even tried. Eventually she gave in to the inevitable and shared the Admiral's analysis with Anna.

"That's … wow, that's just ghastly, Elsa. I can't believe anyone would really think you'd do that."

"'Fear will be your enemy'," Elsa muttered, looking away from her sister.

"What?"

For a moment Anna didn't think the Queen would answer, but she did.

"It's what GrandPabbie said that night when I … when we … " Elsa couldn't look at Anna. Her hands were in her lap, clenching and unclenching as she tried to push the memory away. "Fearing me, not a mob, but other kingdoms, now. It won't end, Anna, not while I live to be the monster they fear I am, the evil sorceress they can point to as a threat."

Anna's jaw dropped. She hadn't realized how deeply hurt Elsa was by the thought of being the cause of Arendelle's diplomatic problems. She got up and went to kneel next to her sister, taking Elsa's hands in her own.

"Elsa, don't talk like that. You're not a monster and Arendelle isn't an aggressor, and like the Admiral told you, that will be obvious to those kingdoms sooner or later." She jumped up and tugged on Elsa's hands to pull her along. "Now, come on. You need some cuddles and hot chocolate in the library to cheer up."

By the time they went off to bed, Anna had managed to get Elsa to smile, if not laugh. Once she got Elsa back to her bedroom and Elsa changed into her nightclothes, she combed out the Queen's hair and tucked her into bed with a kiss, and said, "Now, get some rest. You've been missing too much sleep and it's affecting your judgment!"

"Thank you, Anna. I'm not sure how I would manage without you," Elsa murmured as she drifted off to sleep.

Anna stood over her sister for a moment and thought, _"Thank you, honey, for letting me take care of you."_

She went off to her own room, being careful to leave the door open a crack so that she would hear if Elsa woke from any nightmares.


	20. Party Like It's 1841

_"_The difference between greed and ambition is a greedy person desires things he isn't prepared to work for."  
___― __**Habeeb Akande **_

_"_A small profit it better than a big loss" ___  
__**― Ron Rash, **___**Serena **__

" … and the Spring Equinox Festival is two weeks away. Our plans for several booths to provide sales and samples of our wares will continue the exposure of premium beverages and confections to a wider audience."

Rob Pierre was updating his business partners on the status of their various enterprises. For the moment, the focus was on the food and beverage portion of the import venture. Arendelle celebrated the Spring Equinox with a festival every year, but this one would be larger and more enthusiastic than had been the norm for the last thirteen years. It was the first celebration since Queen Elsa's coronation the previous summer, and the participation of the Crown guaranteed large, boisterous crowds in a party mood.

"Are there any questions, messieurs?" Pierre finished.

"I have one, Rob," interjected Bjorn Thorstad. "I understand we have been granted the contract for building the special reviewing stand for the blessing of the fleet?"

"Yes, we have. Or rather, the subsidiary of our consortium that we use for building warehouses and other construction," replied Pierre. "It is quite the coup, as I understand that in the past the Navy would build the stage for the dignitaries."

"Quite. But the Queen has been petitioned to allow an open competition among profit-making firms to build them. She agreed it was a good way to put money into the pockets of more workers. How did you manage to win the bid, Rob?"

Pierre smiled and responded, "It was the lowest bid, apparently. With the weather Arendelle has in what you call 'spring', we had quite a few idle workers, which meant that almost any money we could bring in for them would be profitable. Our bid document also made note of the fact that all the labor would be performed by local citizens. Only our top management," he gestured to include most of the group sitting around the conference table, "are not natives of Arendelle."

"A coup, indeed," Thorstad commented. His face twisted in a grimace. "If only our other endeavors were so successful."

"What do you mean, Bjorn?" Georges Couthon asked. He had been working to build up the new business opportunities made possible by the rift with Weselton. It was his chance to prove he was ready for the next level of responsibility and was puzzled by Thorstad's comments as the start up seemed to be going well.

"The rapprochement with Weselton has cut into our profit potential, damn the new Duchess." Thorstand slapped the table in anger.

Pierre and his countrymen looked at each other and then Pierre said, "Bjorn, the new trade agreement allows us to license the technology for the new manufactories and continue with our plans to create new industry here in Arendelle. The license fee is nominal, simply acknowledging that the original ideas were of Weselton origins. The reduction in profits is minimal."

"What about this idea of the Queen's that ownership shares be offered to the employees?" Thorstad persisted.

"Since they are the ones doing the actual work, does it not make sense to give them an incentive to make the enterprise a success?" Pierre asked.

Thorstad sensed that his concerns were not shared by the others and desisted. He shrugged to show that he was content to let it lie for now.

The rest of the business was concluded rapidly after that and the meeting broke up. Thorstad and several others took their leave and left Pierre, Couthon, and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, Pierre's warehouse manager, alone in the conference room.

"Well, that was interesting," commented Saint-Just.

Pierre let a disgusted look appear on his face. Disgust, and a little contempt. "Bah, Thorstad is just another example of the greed and perfidy of the upper classes. It is no different in Arendelle than anywhere else. No matter how much gold flows into their pockets, it is never enough. They would steal pennies from starving children, as they have everywhere the aristocracy rules."

His companions nodded in agreement. Saint-Just said, "Our good friend Bjorn will be part of the festivities, will he not?"

"Indeed," replied Pierre. "According to the bid request for the reviewing stand, it must be capable of holding thirty people safely. It is my understanding that the Queen, her entire Royal Council, and other nobles and gentry will be in the official party."

Saint-Just smiled and suggested, "Then, Monsieur Thorstad shall have a front row seat for the … fireworks, n'est-ce pas?"

Pierre nodded thoughtfully and also smiled. "Indeed. It would be a shame for him to miss the show." He shuffled through the papers on the table in front of him and organized them in preparation for ending the meeting. Couthon cleared his throat to get the older man's attention. "Yes, Georges? Do you have something to add?"

"I do, Rob. I have scored another coup with the Princess Anna. She has accepted an invitation to the party we are holding tonight, and several others including the gala we have planned for the eve of the Spring Festival"

Pierre looked thoughtful. "Interesting. Will she be squired by her ice harvester beau?"

"Not tonight, which I find rather curious. She has in fact chosen to allow me to be her escort."

"That is … curious," murmured Saint-Just.

"There's more," continued Couthon. "She has asked that we meet at a location in town. Her excuse was that it would be easier for me than dealing with the security at the castle."

"That is very odd, Georges. It is almost as though she did not want her sister to know of her escapades," Pierre said.

Couthon shrugged. "Whatever the reason, I readily agreed. She is a vivacious and beautiful woman, and I look forward to getting to know her better."

"I trust in your charm, wit and gallantry to woo the Princess, Georges. This might be an … opportunity to seduce a young woman who is still relatively naive." Pierre looked thoughtful. "I wonder if she is vexed by the strictures of her sister and is looking for a more … independent life. Perhaps even a life that provides her more access to the levers of power."

"When you suggested that to Thorstad in the past, Rob, he brushed it off as ridiculous," Saint-Just pointed out.

"Which does not mean it IS ridiculous, Louis. Bjorn is blinded by his own experiences in this horribly dull kingdom. The Princess would certainly not be the first 'spare' chafing to prove their worth in competition with older siblings," retorted Pierre. "Be circumspect, Georges, but do sound her out, hmm?"

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Anna giggled as Georges twirled her skillfully as they danced. "Why, Georges, I haven't had such a proficient dance partner since … well, since forever!"

He dipped her, then moved into the final flourish of the dance as the orchestra finished the tune. Anna was blushing and breathing hard from the exertion of the dance, but their finesse drew applause from the rest of the crowd. A bow and a curtsy to acknowledge the accolade, then Georges led his companion to a quiet corner near the buffet tables. The Princess sat gratefully, then accepted a glass of champagne with even more gratitude. "Thank you, Georges!" She sipped delicately, not wanting to become tipsy by imbibing too quickly.

"I find it hard to believe that, ma chérie. You dance so wonderfully!" He took her hand and kissed it tenderly.

"Oh, well, Kristoff isn't much for dancing and the only other time I danced was at Elsa's coronation ball with that hideous little Duke!"

"I thank my lucky stars that Monsieur Kristoff was too busy to escort you this evening," murmured Couthon.

"Yes, well, he had to go up into the mountains. It's getting on toward warmer weather and the lakes won't survey themselves, after all." Anna mentally crossed her fingers. It was the truth, after all, so why should she feel guilty attending the party with the Marquis? Except for the fact that she knew it would hurt Kristoff if he found out. _ "This is for Elsa, Anna! You need to help her bust open this conspiracy, and if you can extract any information from this dreamy guy … wait, what? NOT dreamy, no dreaming!"_

Anna was never very good at keeping her feelings off her face, so Couthon easily picked up on the fact that Anna was conflicted about something. He decided it was a good time to encourage her to talk about her sister and their relationship. He thought about it, then decided that subtlety and indirection would be the best approach.

"Your Highness, have I told you how lovely Arendelle is and how grateful I am to my associate Monsieur Pierre for the opportunity to become acquainted with your kingdom, and those who rule it?" He smiled, an engaging smile that had melted the hearts of women far more jaded than Anna.

"No, Georges, but I would love to hear all about it!"

"My father is what is known as a 'great man' back home. I love him, but I was stifled, constantly in his shadow. I have led a life of privilege, well educated in the skills expected of nobility, and it was … most unsatisfying. I wanted more, I wanted to prove that I could stand on my own, accomplish great things on my own. So when Monsieur Pierre offered me a chance to join his enterprise, I jumped at it."

"What did your father say, Georges? I imagine he wasn't thrilled about that," Anna said.

A shrug. "Indeed, he railed at me about how plebeian becoming a shopkeeper would be, how beneath my station it was. But competition in commerce would test me, test my mettle and acumen. With an opportunity to demonstrate to Rob my capability, I could both acquire riches independent of my father, and acclaim as my own man." A self-deprecating smile endeared him to Anna. She could understand that motivation all too well.

Anna sighed and said, "I know the feeling of being overshadowed. I love my sister, but she's always been the heir, the important one. Not to mention beautiful, smart, and, oh yeah, did I mention she has magic powers?" Anna looked away and brushed a loose strand of hair back. "I've always been the awkward one, the spare. The … screwup."

"Ma chérie, you are too hard on yourself. I have heard that you are an able regent for your sister when she is indisposed or otherwise unavailable. Indeed, I suspect that you would do just as fine a job ruling Arendelle as she does." He glanced at her. "Perhaps better."

Anna blushed at the compliment and responded, "Better? Oh, no, never. How could I ever be better than Elsa?"

"My understanding is that although she is capable, she is feared, and that fear causes diplomatic problems." He watched Anna closely. "Has it ever occurred to you that if she were to offer you the crown, it would be to Arendelle's benefit? An honorable retirement for her and a throne for you."

This idea disturbed Anna. She didn't ever want to think about Arendelle without Elsa.

Couthon watched the play of emotions across Anna's face and misinterpreted them as interest rather than unease. He decided to let the seed he had planted develop before pursuing it further.

The orchestra began to play another dance tune, so he smiled at Anna and suggested, "Shall we dance, milady? We have an example to set, do we not?"

She nodded and let him lead her to the dance floor again. He was a dreamy dancer, and she did occasionally enjoy being the center of attention. Besides, they seemed to have made a connection, and the whole point of this was to uncover any plotting against her sister that Pierre might be engaged in.

Anna suppressed her guilt at going against Elsa's strict orders._ "This is for her, Anna, she'll forgive you when you pull this off."_


	21. Two parties, no waiting

"_When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it-always." _  
**― Mahatma Gandhi **

"Need any help with that, Elsa?"

Anna walked into Elsa's room as her sister was putting the final touches on her makeup and hair. It was the day before the Spring Equinox festival, and there would be a non-stop whirl of balls and parties into the wee hours of the morning.

"Nope, just finishing." Elsa smiled at her sister. The queen was in a dressing gown as she sat at her vanity. Anna was already dressed for dinner. "All I need is a dress!" Elsa grinned as she stood up, threw her robe onto the bed and waved her hand to create another ice dress for the dinner and ball tonight.

"Whoa. I never get tired of watching you do that, Elsa! It's gorgeous, as always."

"Well, what good are magic powers if you can't do something spectacular with them every now and again?" Elsa loved making dresses for herself, although she only indulged in the practice for special occasions. "Let's go, our dinner guests are waiting!"

After dinner, Elsa kissed Anna's cheek as her sister and Kristoff prepared to leave for an evening of socializing. Elsa was hosting a ball at the castle, and Anna and Kristoff would make the rounds of all the parties that wanted a royal in attendance. Since this was the first Equinox Festival since Elsa's coronation, the kingdom was going all out to celebrate.

"Have fun, honey! And, you, too, Kristoff," Elsa said.

"Ah, yeah. Fun. Tight collar, pinchy leather boots, and I bet she'll want me to dance, too." Kristoff rolled his eyes, but he smiled at Anna. He would never be as enthusiastic party goer as she was, but being with her made it all worthwhile.

"I'll check in when we get back, Elsa," Anna said. "No matter how late. Or early."

"As long as you don't announce your presence by squishing me, that's fine!" Elsa had a twinkle in her eye as she said this, knowing that it was a forlorn hope.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

"Your Highness, Master Kristoff, how kind of you to grace us with your presence this evening!" Georges Couthon greeted Anna and Kristoff at the entrance foyer to Pierre's town house. It was festive with lights, and Anna could hear dance music being played and the sounds of laughter from the party goers. Considering Pierre's main line of business, Anna was sure that the cognac and champagne were flowing freely.

Pierre's event was the last one on their list for the evening. When Anna had set up their plans for her and Kristoff with Elsa, she had 'accidentally' forgotten to mention this one to her sister. _ "Why worry Elsa? I've got the guards with me, what could happen at a party?"_ Kristoff was none the wiser because not sharing Elsa's concerns was the one thing Anna did according to the queen's instructions.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world, Georges, you know that!" Anna had been to three more 'tasting parties' with Couthon while Kristoff was up in the mountains surveying the lakes for ice. She had managed to drop hints to Georges that Anna was reluctant to let either Kristoff or Elsa know that she was seeing him. She made vague comments about how stuffy and overly protective Elsa was and how jealous Kristoff could be.

Her plans to infiltrate whatever scheme Pierre was planning hadn't yet resulted in anything tangible. Her conversations with Georges were filled with hints and innuendo, suggestions that she was jealous of her sister and perhaps amenable to deposing the queen and taking the throne. Subtlety wasn't really Anna's strong suit, but she thought she was managing it – the high stakes were a powerful motivator. For his part, Georges had shrewdly encouraged her feelings as the younger sibling, forever in the shadow of the Snow Queen. His reports to Pierre were smug in his analysis of his influence on the princess.

Tonight, Pierre had planned to approach Anna himself, with a modest proposal that was couched in terms so ambiguous that if she reacted badly it could be brushed off as a simple misunderstanding due to Pierre's poor language skills.

But first they had to separate Anna from Kristoff and her bodyguards.

"Master Kristoff, Princess Anna, I am humbled by your presence!" Pierre bowed and gallantly kissed Anna's hand. Kristoff suppressed his jealousy, although it was easier with Pierre, who was older and not as handsome as Couthon. "May I extend to you the hospitality of my house? Please, enjoy all that I have to offer." He waved expansively at the tables laden with food and drink. "We have some very special liqueurs and dainties, just arrived from Lübeck."

"Thank you, Monsieur Pierre. We shall certainly do so." Anna blushed as she always did when someone kissed her hand. She wondered if there was some tactful way to suggest to Kristoff that it might be a habit he could cultivate. Maybe a suggestion to Kai so he could bring it up during their etiquette lessons.

For the next hour Anna and Kristoff mingled with the other guests and enjoyed the delicacies of Pierre's table. Kristoff made a point of staying away from the more potent beverages, and Anna stuck to champagne while using the tricks Elsa had taught her about appearing to drink more than she actually was. Even without alcohol, Kristoff decided he needed the privy, and he asked a passing servant where to find it.

"I'll be right back, Feisty Pants. Try to leave some marzipan for the rest of the guests, okay?"

Anna just scrunched up her nose at him and reached for another cherry cordial.

Pierre had been waiting for this opportunity and signaled one of his 'servants', who was actually a trusted collaborator. Another signal, and a second man moved to approach the two bodyguards who were watching over Anna.

"Pardon me, gentlemen," he whispered. He looked around as though checking that no one was close enough to overhear them. "One of the stable hands just came to monsieur Pierre to report that he saw several men approaching the house from behind the carriage house. They are all dressed in black and he thought he saw the glint of a knife."

The two guards looked at each other. If this was a threat, they needed to investigate. But they were not supposed to leave Anna unguarded. The senior of the two cursed to himself and wished they had brought four guards, but the guard contingent was shorthanded because their Captain had chosen to have most of the guards at the castle to protect Elsa.

He looked over to where Anna was laughing and talking to Georges Couthon while indulging in the dainties on the buffet table. Surely she couldn't get into any trouble while the two of them went out back to check on the reported intruders? He gestured to his partner and they followed the servant out.

As soon as the two guards left the room, Pierre sauntered to join Couthon and Anna and murmured, "Your Highness, I see you enjoy these confections. May I offer you some very special delights that I reserve for very special patrons?" He offered Anna his arm to lead her to another room, Couthon following close behind.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa stood on the dais of her throne room and watched her guests enjoying themselves. She was tired, it was late, and the party showed no signs of winding down. She thought she'd give it another half hour and then signal Kai to start ushering people towards the doors.

Captain Gunnarsson approached her with a worried look on his face. "Your Majesty," he whispered, "We may have a problem. The Admiral is in your study and needs to speak to you immediately."

She smiled and nodded at him, not wanting to alarm anyone in the ballroom. "Let us join him, then, Captain." She stepped down and they made their way through the crowd, Elsa nodding and murmuring pleasantries as they moved to the doors.

When they got to her study, the Admiral was there with another man dressed as a common laborer. They both bowed to Elsa as she seated herself at her desk. "Admiral? What is so important as to call me out of the ball?"

"Your Majesty, this is Rolf Tellefsen, one of our agents working in Rob Pierre's warehouse. He came here with rather disturbing information, and managed to convince the guards at the gate to call me to identify him and bring him to you. Rolf, please tell Queen Elsa what you told me."

Tellefsen seemed uncomfortable in the Queen's presence. He gulped, then began to speak.

"Your Majesty, I've been working at Pierre's warehouse for about six months. I'm not the only one of your agents there, but we don't know each other for security. I've not seen anything suspicious until recently. About a month ago one of the fellows got crunched when a barrel fell on him. After they took him away, I got a look at the rope that was hauling the barrel up to the storage area, and it looked cut to me, not frayed or weakened." He shook his head. "That … made me think it wasn't an accident, and I started watching even more carefully for … odd things."

Continuing his story, he said, "The last couple of weeks there's been a lot of whispers and … furtive meetings. Then a 'special edition' of bourbon got delivered on the ship from Le Havre. There was a lot of it, more than usual, and they locked it up in a special room that no one except the bosses had access to."

"Is that significant?" asked Elsa.

"Yes, milady. None of the stuff they've brought in before was locked away, no matter how expensive the spirits were. I kept watching that room for anyone going in or out, but no one ever did, at least, not during the shifts I was working. Yet, there was a lot of activity around the rest of the warehouse, because they were stocking up the taverns and the inns and the parties celebrating the Festival. Didn't make sense." He paused. "So I decided to do something drastic."

Elsa gestured at him to go on.

"Tonight, once the day shift was done, the whole crew was given the night off so they could celebrate with the rest of the kingdom. The bosses even gave everyone a bottle of wine, not the very best, mind you, but not rotgut."

"So after I collected mine, instead of leaving with the rest, I ducked behind some big barrels of ale and hid out until everyone was gone. I waited until I hadn't heard anything or anyone for a couple of hours, then checked out the special room." He looked embarrassed.

"How did you do that, Rolf?" Elsa asked.

"Uh, I picked the lock, Your Majesty. It's a knack I picked up when I was younger." He waited for her to seem shocked, and continued his story when she just looked thoughtful. "The room was very odd. There were no lights or lanterns in the room, but it had a glass panel in the ceiling, and there were lanterns hanging above the window, which gave me just enough light to see shelves of barrels of the 'special edition' lining the room. Only, about half the shelves were empty."

"So I picked up one of the barrels, and it wasn't liquor. I tapped the bung to see what it was, and this is what I poured out." He dug into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief, twisted into a knot. Untying it, he laid it on Elsa's desk and unfolded it. "Gunpowder, milady. And there are enough barrels of the stuff left in that room to blow up that whole end of the town."

Elsa felt faint as she stared at the black powder.

"Your Majesty?" She looked up at the Admiral. "We need to move quickly. It is now clear that Pierre has something horrific planned, something that will kill a lot of people if we don't stop him."

"What do you think it is?" Elsa could hardly force the words out through a suddenly dry throat.

Colonel Nordholm chose that moment to arrive at Elsa's study. The Admiral had sent for him once he had heard Tellefsen's story. "I may have an idea about that, Your Majesty."

"Go on, Lars," the Admiral said.

"It seems that the reviewing stand for tomorrow's Blessing of the Fleet was built by a subsidiary of Pierre's. I suspect if we go and check it out, we will find the missing barrels stacked neatly underneath it." Nordholm's face was grim. "Her Majesty, the Council, most of the rest of the nobility would be on that reviewing stand tomorrow. Not to mention the crowds surrounding them at the docks."

All of the self-control Elsa had learned over thirteen years was the only thing that allowed her to maintain a dispassionate demeanor. Her inner turmoil was invisible.

"Admiral, we need to act, but we need to be circumspect while arresting Pierre and his accomplices," Elsa said. She was surprised that her voice was calm. "It would do no good to create a panic. How shall we go about it?"

"We'll send a squad to that warehouse, quietly, to insure that those barrels of gunpowder stay exactly where they are. Another squad will check out the reviewing stand, again while avoiding any fuss that would tip off Pierre. Once we know those places are secure, we need to go arrest Pierre. It is my understanding that he is hosting a large party at his townhouse tonight."

"Very well, see to it immediately," ordered Elsa. She rubbed her temples, then looked at Captain Gunnarsson and said, "Captain, send four of your guards to bring Anna back immediately." She rummaged through the papers on her desk and picked one up to read. "According to this itinerary, by now she should be at the Weselton Embassy, the last stop on her rounds tonight."

Gunnarsson saluted and left. So did Nordholm and Tellefsen, leaving Elsa alone with the Admiral.

"Admiral, I need to get back to the ball and gently shoo my guests out for the evening. If you wait here, it won't take long." She left to instruct Kai, knowing that he would tactfully let it be known that the party was over.

Once she returned to her study, Elsa and the Admiral spent the next hour waiting for reports from the warehouse and the docks. A messenger from Colonel Nordholm confirmed that the missing gunpowder was indeed stacked underneath the reviewing stand, and that it was now under guard until it could be safely removed.

When Captain Gunnarsson returned, he was rather agitated. "Your Majesty, Princess Anna was not at the Weselton Embassy. Lady Kluge told us that the Princess had left about an hour before we got there, mentioning that she had one last event to attend."

"What? What event?" Elsa demanded.

"Lady Kluge didn't know, Your Majesty. The Princess was not specific."

With a sudden flash of intuition, Elsa knew exactly where Anna was. "Oh, no," she whispered.

"Your Majesty, what is it?" asked the Admiral.

"She's at Pierre's. She and Kristoff are with that … monster."

Gunnarsson and Naismith looked at each other, then Naismith said, "How do you know that, Your Majesty? Perhaps she and Kristoff decided to stop at the Guild Hall on their way back, we could send men to –"

"No, I … just feel it. Anna wanted to help us find out if Pierre was involved in the assassination attempts, she felt she had a connection with his young colleague. I told her no, in no uncertain terms, that it was too dangerous." Elsa had gotten up and started pacing in front of the window. "For the last several weeks, she's been rather … vague about where she's been going while Kristoff was up in the mountains." The Queen wrung her hands and turned to the two men. "I should have realized she was up to something. Anna only gets vague when she's up to things she shouldn't be."

After a moment of silence, Gunnarsson spoke up. "If she is at Pierre's, we'll have to be more circumspect arresting him. Not that we could have gone in there with guns blazing, endangering the no doubt innocent guests who have no idea what their host is." Naismith nodded in agreement.

Elsa paced across the room twice more before she stopped and looked at them. "I think … that Monsieur Pierre is about to get a most distinguished guest, albeit an uninvited one."

"Your Majesty?" asked Naismith.

"Let us gather your men, Captain. Ten or twelve of them. A suitable escort for the Queen, I think."

She didn't wait for them to recover from the shock of what she was proposing. Elsa swept out of the study and threw a last comment over her shoulder. "I won't wait for you, gentlemen. Are you coming or do I rescue my sister alone?"


	22. Not With a Bang But a Whimper

"_Evil is a choice one makes, not a natural state of being."  
**― Morgan Rhodes, Rebel Spring **_

_It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver._

– _**Niccolo Machiavelli**_

"Your … Your Majesty, this is most … unexpected!" Pierre's Butler was stunned to see the Queen at his doorstep, smiling and looking intent on joining the party.

"I'm terribly sorry that I didn't send ahead. But I had heard that Monsieur Pierre had the most … compelling parties, and I realized I had never attended one. My own ball had ended, it had been rather boring and mundane, so I thought, 'Why not?' and decided to see for myself what all the … ferment … was about." Her grin said that she knew she had made a terrible pun.

The Butler stood for just a moment gaping at the well-coiffed woman, regally clad in the finest cloth of ice, standing in the doorway looking for all the world like she was truly apologetic, despite the fact that she was the queen and had several guards at her back. He finally regained his aplomb and bowed to her, saying, "Your Majesty, pardon my ill manners. Welcome, please come in and I will inform Monsieur Pierre that you … your Majesty … has arrived." He held open the door as Elsa and the guards strolled into the mansion, joining the other guests. The murmurs of "The Queen" followed her as she entered the main room.

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

While Elsa was creating a stir inside, most of the Queen's Own had quietly gone around to the back of the mansion to check out the grounds and cut off any escape in that direction. They quickly determined that there was only one rear exit, plus a carriage house/stable. Sergeant Jorgensen gestured for two men to check the building out while the rest of then spread out to cover the yard, remaining in the shadows as much as possible.

It didn't take long for the two men to return with their report.

"Bad news, Sergeant. We found the two men assigned to Princess Anna in the stable, dead." The guard's face and voice were grim. These men had sworn to die to protect the Queen and her sister, but it was still a shock when they lost comrades. "Looks like a couple of crossbow bolts in the back. Must've been an ambush – they never saw it coming."

"That tears it," said Jorgensen. "This bastard is up to something and now the Queen is here, too, damn it!"

"It was her idea, Sergeant."

"Doesn't make it a good idea, though, does it?" Jorgensen pointed to a couple of the men. "You stay and watch that door. I'm going in and report to the Captain. The rest of you come with me. This whole thing is going to blow up any minute, so watch out!"

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

When Jorgensen entered the main room of the house, he saw the Queen talking with a man he recognized as Georges Couthon. He gestured to the four men with him to spread out, then approached the Captain.

He smiled, trying to keep a calm facade so as not to alarm anyone.

"We got trouble, Captain," he whispered while nodding at the Queen.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid that Monsieur Pierre has already left for the evening, and sadly, no, we haven't seen the Princess at all tonight," Couthon was saying. Pierre had sent him out to deal with the Queen while he remained with Anna, who had no idea what was going on in the main party room.

"Really? I had been informed otherwise." Elsa's smile was beginning to look forced. She knew Anna was here somewhere.

"Your information is mistaken, Your Majesty, I assure you that – " Couthon was interrupted by the Captain putting a hand on his shoulder. "I beg your pardon, man, that is uncalled for!" Georges snarled as he tried to pull away.

"What IS uncalled for, Monsieur, are the two dead men from the Queen's Own in your stable. I suggest that you tell us where the Princess is before this gets even uglier." Gunnarsson tightened his grip on Couthon's arm for emphasis.

While this was going on, the other guards quietly encouraged the guests to leave the party, directing them to the main foyer and out into the night. The room had rapidly emptied under their directions, leaving Elsa and her guards alone with Couthon and several frightened servants. One not so frightened servant had slipped out when he saw Jorgensen and the others enter and begin shooing the guests out.

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

" – and then, after thirteen years of ignoring me, we reconciled, but you know, she was still pretty distant and even though she leaves me in charge I just feel so … overwhelmed sometimes. And she puts on this front, you know, like she really cares, but –" Anna was rambling, trying to cover up the fact she was concerned that Kristoff hadn't come back and shouldn't he have come looking for her?

The servant came into the room and bowed to Pierre. "Monsieur, I am sad to report that we have run out of the special cognac. Your guests are most displeased." He bowed again and left at Pierre's gesture.

"Oh, how awful. Shouldn't you return to the party and take care of this problem?" Anna asked Pierre.

He just smiled and refilled her wine glass. "Nothing to worry about, Your Highness. I have competent aides, I am sure that Georges is taking care of the problem quite competently. While he is doing that, perhaps I could interest you in a walk through my gardens? They are quite beautiful." He stood and held out his hand to help her rise from her chair.

"Wait, what? There's still snow on the ground," Anna said. She hadn't had so much wine that her brain had stopped working.

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

Georges looked at the expression on Gunnarsson's face, and the Queen's, and decided that his career with Rob Pierre was over; it was time to seek alternatives. And he had actually become somewhat fond of Anna.

"Your Majesty, I … believe that I am no longer in the employ of Monsieur Pierre. How may I help you?"

"You can start by telling us where my sister and Master Kristoff are," Elsa snarled. She had lost all semblance of patience. A small patch of ice appeared at her feet, and Georges gulped when he realized there was a blue glow shining from her hands.

"Master Kristoff is in one of the pantries in the kitchen. We knocked him out, poured liquor all over him to make anyone who found him think he had passed out drunk."

A head gesture from Jorgensen and two of the guards went to collect Kristoff.

"And my sister? Where. Is. She?" The effort to hold back from freezing this man where he stood was almost too much for Elsa to manage. She reached up to cup Couthon's chin in her hand, a hand that glowed blue and was icy cold.

"She's with Pierre, through there, the back parlor." Couthon's voice was almost a whimper as his teeth began to chatter.

The two guards sent to get Kristoff returned, with Kristoff rubbing his head and staggering a little on his feet. "Elsa? What are you doing here? Why do I smell like a distillery? And … where's Anna?" He looked around at the empty room.

Gunnarsson handed Georges over to the two guards and told them to take him out to the stable and make sure he didn't go anywhere.

"Kristoff, Anna is in danger from Pierre. We're going to go get her, right now." Elsa turned and strode toward the doorway Couthon had indicated, Kristoff and her guards running to catch up, Gunnarsson swearing under his breath at his Queen's reckless audacity. He was supposed to protect her, by Loki's brass balls, and here he was again, trying to keep up as she ran towards an unknown danger.

_x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x_

As they raced to find the Princess, Anna was trying to pull her hand free from Pierre's grasp. "There's nothing to see in your gardens, Monsieur! What do you think you're doing?"

Pierre's grip only tightened as he pulled her toward the door. "I apologize, Your Highness, but I must insist. I'm afraid that you must be my guest for a while longer. I assure you that we have so much more to discuss since we seem to have such similar feelings about your sister."

Anna was about to make a withering remark about Pierre's hospitality when Elsa, Kristoff and the guards burst into the room. Pierre immediately wrapped one arm around Anna's neck while pulling a pistol out of his pocket and putting it to her head.

Elsa and the rest stopped abruptly as they saw that they had had found Anna. And Pierre.

"Stop right there, Your Majesty, or she dies!" Pierre snarled. He did not expect what happened next.

"Go right ahead, Monsieur. It will save me the trouble of training a headsman to deal with the traitorous bitch!" Elsa laughed. Anna glared at her sister. She had no idea where Elsa was going with this charade, but she could play along and hope it distracted Pierre enough so she could escape his grasp.

"What?" Pierre lost some of his swagger, but did not loosen his grip on either Anna or the gun.

"A headsman, to execute her as befits royalty that commits treason and attempts regicide. It wouldn't do to simply hang the little tramp. People would talk," Elsa explained as if to a small child.

"Little tramp, am I? YOU'RE one to talk!" Anna hissed at the Queen, ignoring the gun at her head, ignoring everyone else in the room as she confronted her sister, hoping she sounded as convincing as Elsa did.

"Because I covet your boyfriend? A boyfriend that you ran off to after you deserted the charms of MY bed? Really, Anna, don't you think he'd rather father the next ruler of Arendelle with the Queen, not her vapid little sister?" Elsa leaned in to Kristoff, wrapping her right arm in his left. Her sly grin at the anger on her sister's face seemed to infuriate Anna. "Why settle for the spare when you can have the real thing?" she purred.

Kristoff looked down at the Queen as though she were a poisonous snake he had found coiled in his sled. He was afraid of her, afraid to pull away from her grip on his arm. He couldn't believe his ears; this couldn't be Elsa, the Queen who loved her sister above her own life. Was she really accusing Anna of treason, regicide … and incest!?

Pierre was stunned at the scene playing out in front of him. He thought he had the trump card in his hand when he had taken Anna. Instead, it seemed that his scheme would fail because the two sisters really **were** rivals for the throne, that the younger had been playing **him** as part of her ambition to depose the Queen and take the crown for herself. He cursed to himself as he realized he should have remembered what vipers royals could be.

"Come, Monsieur, this is all so tedious. Do what you will. It will play out ever so much better with the peasants if you kill my sister instead of making me do it. That lets me present her as a martyr to your perfidy and garner the sympathy befitting a grief stricken Queen suffering yet another familial tragedy." Elsa put the back of her free hand to her forehead in a dramatic gesture, making a moue of exaggerated grief to put a point on her words.

Anna felt Pierre's grip loosen ever so slightly and the gun waver away from her head. It was time to make her move.

She let her body go limp and fell through his loosened grip to the floor at Pierre's feet. "NOW, Elsa!" she screamed.

Before Pierre could react, Elsa swept her hand forward and impaled his body to the wall on a spike of ice. He twitched briefly before he died, the gun dropping from his hand with a clatter.

Pulling away from Kristoff, Elsa rushed to embrace Anna, saying, "Anna, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Anna hugged her sister back and replied, "No, I'm fine, not a scratch." She went on, "Nice act, you almost had ME convinced! Whoa!" she caught her sister as Elsa almost collapsed. "What?"

Elsa couldn't speak for a moment; she began crying into Anna's shoulder. "I haven't been so frightened since … since ..." she choked out. She pushed herself back and grabbed her sister's arms and shook her. "What were you thinking? How could you have put yourself in such danger after I explicitly told you not to try to get close to Pierre? You could have died, Anna!" The Queen's fear and anger were palpable – frost coated the floor around them.

Anna couldn't look Elsa in the eye and muttered, "I know, I know. This wasn't one of my better ideas, and I'll admit I was scared, too." She shuddered in a belated reaction as she held Elsa.

Kristoff was still standing there, mouth hanging open, trying to process what he had just seen. "What just happened?" he asked as his brain finally started working again.

Anna looked up at him, "Kristoff, I'm so sorry. I had to leave you in the dark on this whole thing so that it was believable. Your reaction made my plan real to these creeps."

"You didn't trust me?" he asked in disbelief. He felt the anger building inside him. "Anna, you could have been killed! I left you alone with a mad man because I didn't realize what was going on! Do you understand what it would have meant to me if you had died?"

Anna rushed over to Kristoff. "Kristoff, please, don't be angry, I can explain!" She knew that she had screwed this up badly – Elsa **and** Kristoff had every right to be furious at her for putting herself in danger and leaving them in the dark about her plan.

"Kristoff, I think Anna owes us both an explanation. But can we do this somewhere else? Somewhere private?" Elsa was wringing her hands and looking distressed, trying not to look toward the carnage she had created. The stink of blood and other things hung in the air.

He gave a grudging nod, then stalked out of the room.

"He's really angry, Elsa," Anna worried.

"You'll just have to hope he'll understand when you explain this, Anna," Elsa said as she took Anna's hand. "And I'm not very pleased, either, so I'm looking forward to a compelling explanation myself." Turning to Eric, she ordered, "Let's return to the castle, Captain. Leave most of your men here to guard this house until the Gendarmerie and the Marines arrive. Four men should be enough to get us home."

The Captain saluted, then gestured to the Guardsmen. The little troop left for the castle.


	23. Picking Up The Pieces

_"The worst pain in the world goes beyond the physical. Even further beyond any other emotional pain one can feel. It is the betrayal of a friend."_  
**― Heather Brewer, Ninth Grade Slays**

_"When you loved someone and had to let them go, there will always be that small part of yourself that whispers, "What was it that you wanted and why didn't you fight for it?"_  
**― Shannon L. Alder**

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Kristoff's long stride and the anger driving him got him back to the castle well before the Queen and Anna arrived. He went to the stables to see Sven and vent at him, trying to make sense of events. Sven had nothing to offer as advice this time; political machinations were beyond his area of expertise. Kristoff slumped onto a bale of hay in frustration and put his head in his hands, trying to ignore the headache pounding in his temples.

Anna and Elsa found him there. They hesitated at the stable door, unsure of how to approach him. Sven snorted and stamped, getting Kristoff's attention, pointing at Anna with his antler.

Kristoff stood, his face expressionless. "Yes, Your Highness?" He ignored Elsa for the moment, bad manners or not.

Dismayed at this formality, Anna said softly, "Please, Kristoff, let me explain. It's not what you think."

"No? You don't even know what I think!" he huffed at her, arms crossed.

"You think that I didn't trust you to be part of my plan because I think you're just a commoner and not smart enough," Anna said quietly.

That shot went right to the heart of his insecurity. He wavered, "Don't you?" HE thought that of himself often enough, why wouldn't she?

"No. Never that. Please, let me explain the whole thing, won't you? If you want to be angry at me after that, then … well … but please let me explain first," Anna pleaded with him with such sincerity that he finally nodded grudgingly and sat back down on the hay bale.

Elsa stopped Anna from beginning her explanation; her exhaustion was clear on her face. It was only an hour or so until dawn, and some discussions needed to be had with no time constraints.

"Wait. Kristoff, I know we need to talk about everything that happened, but can I ask you to let it wait until this evening, after the Festival? I know it is difficult for you to wait, but we need to get through all the activities today with a minimum of disruption. Can I beg your forbearance until then?

He looked at Anna. She was clearly surprised that Elsa had interrupted her, but Anna looked at Kristoff with an expression that was a silent promise that they would explain everything to him once they had gotten through the day. He nodded, once, then watched as they left the stable.

As the two women walked up to the residence floor of the castle, Elsa glanced at her sister and said, "Anna?" Elsa's voice was tired. "I … I'm so angry with you right now. We almost lost you to that maniac. If he had killed you, I'm not sure if I would have survived." She looked down at her hands. "We lost two men to that murderer, and … and I had to kill him."

Anna hung her head and couldn't look at her sister. "I'm sorry, Elsa, so sorry. I just wanted to help," Anna whispered. Elsa had told her about the guards as they returned to the castle from Pierre's home.

"I know," Elsa replied. "Let's get to bed. We have to get some sleep and put on a good front tomorrow." She glanced out the window at the coral and gold sky. "Today, actually."

When Anna changed into her night clothes and slipped into Elsa's room, the Queen just held the blanket up to let her sister join her. Neither of them found sleep easy, there was too much to deal with.

After a half hour or so of futile tossing and turning, Anna sat up and asked, "Elsa?"

"Mmmm?"

"Could you please explain that show you put on to distract Pierre? I'll admit it caught me by surprise."

Elsa rolled over to face Anna and muttered, "'_Honi soit qui mal y pense'_."

"What, now? You know I have about six words of Latin, and those six aren't any of them," protested Anna.

"It's French and it means, 'evil to him who evil thinks'," the Queen explained. "It was clear that Pierre was depraved and utterly indifferent to human life. Such a man projects his own evil onto others. It seemed to me that he would be only too ready to believe that we were as vile and twisted as he was. I thought about it on the way to his house before I actually knew if you were really in danger. It seemed it would distract him enough for you to escape his hold."

"But what if you were wrong?"

"Then you'd probably be dead, and I would be back in the place I was on the fjord last July, ready to die myself." Elsa's voice was so soft Anna almost couldn't hear her.

There didn't seem to be anything else to say. Anna lay back down and huddled close to her sister.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

It was the end of a tiring day. The festivities had gone off without much disruption. The tale of what had happened at Pierre's home hadn't spread – the guests hadn't seen the end of their host's evening. All they knew is that the Queen had appeared to join the party, which then abruptly ended.

Elsa wasn't sure exactly how much of the story needed to become public. The reviewing stand had been emptied of the gunpowder by skilled Navy artillerists before dawn. Pierre's warehouses and other places of business were closed and under guard by the Marines and Gendarmerie. They would remain closed until her police and intelligence people could vet Pierre's business partners and establish their complicity in his scheme. The workers would be idle, and undoubtedly be gossiping and speculating as to why they were suddenly out of work. It was a problem that needed to be dealt with, but not today.

The sun had set an hour ago, and now the finale of the day's celebration burst into the sky in a flare of color and sound.

Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff were seated on a balcony overlooking the castle courtyard for the fireworks. They could hear the cheers of the crowd in the town square and along the docks. The castle was quiet – Elsa had given everyone except a skeleton staff the night off to make up for the long hours they had worked leading up to the events of the Equinox Festival.

There was a full guard complement, though. Pierre might be dead and most of his colleagues in custody, but "most" wasn't the same as "all", and Admiral Naismith and Captain Gunnarsson felt that paranoia was a healthy approach for the moment.

As the last of the fireworks faded in the sky, Elsa stood and said, "Shall we finish this interminable day in the library? Kristoff, we still owe you an explanation, and I think we all deserve some quiet time in front of the fire."

Once in the library, Elsa paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. She glanced at them as Anna shut the door behind Kristoff, then gestured at Kristoff to sit on the couch. He did, and Anna, respecting his current emotional state, sat in a chair at the far end of the couch instead of on the couch next to him. Elsa remained standing.

"Kristoff, we owe you an explanation – " Elsa began.

"Not an apology?" he growled. His sat stiffly, hands clasped tightly in his lap, his muscles taut and ready to flee. From what, he didn't know.

"No, actually, an apology would imply we did something wrong," Elsa said softly. "We were trying to save your life."

"I … don't understand. How was I in danger?" Kristoff asked.

"Kristoff, Pierre was trying to kill all of us. He was clever, skilled at manipulating people, a master at reading people. The Admiral's investigation into him didn't get very far, but it was clear that he had been at this a long time without ever getting caught," Elsa began pacing again.

"We were stymied, at a dead end with the investigation into Pierre and that assassin Grau. Anna wanted to help, she felt she had a connection with Couthon. I forbade her to put herself in danger, and I specifically forbade her from telling you about our suspicions. I worried that you are so honest and open that you wouldn't be able to hide your feelings about Pierre and Couthon if you knew they were part of the conspiracy to kill us. Let me ask you, do you really think you would have been able to keep a straight face?" Elsa asked him.

He thought about it for a minute, if he were honest with himself he had to admit it would have been hard. "Maybe not, but … "

"No buts." Elsa retorted. "Pierre has seen through any number of attempts to smoke him out in the past, you wouldn't have a chance against someone like him."

"What makes you two so good at it, then?" he challenged her. He was losing this argument, but he wouldn't give up yet.

Elsa said, "I don't know, maybe thirteen years of '_conceal, don't feel_' might have helped?"

He turned to Anna, who hadn't said anything yet. She was hunched into herself, her arms wrapped around herself as if she were trying to warm up, a gesture she had picked up from Elsa. "What about you?"

She looked at him sorrowfully, "I'm not as good at it as Elsa, but a royal upbringing includes presenting a pleasant face no matter what you're really feeling. It was hard, I'm not going to deny that. But the stakes were too high for me to screw it up." Anna looked away. "It's a pretty strong motivation when a mistake means you've put the people you love at risk."

"A royal upbringing. Not a commoner upbringing like mine. I'm not good enough for you," he spoke bitterly.

"Kristoff, that's not what we're saying!" Elsa shouted at him. She was at her last dregs of patience – the exhaustion was overcoming her self control. "Anna loves you. I love you, as a brother-to-be. We knew it would hurt, but we couldn't risk losing you. The only way your upbringing entered into this mess is the fact that you are the most honest, open, decent man in this kingdom. And in this particular ugly situation, that was a handicap, not a strength!" She was breathing heavily, trying to control her emotions.

He groaned and put his head in his hands, realizing she was right. They let him think for a bit, Elsa sitting down at the opposite end of the couch from him and taking Anna's hand in her own.

Finally, he raised his head and shook it ruefully, "I was so scared for her when Weselton attacked and Anna was kidnapped. Then I had to watch you," he pointed his chin at Elsa, "put yourself in the hands of those animals, not knowing if we'd ever see you alive again." He stood and began pacing. "Then this whole assassination plot thing comes up, and I'm watching both of you in mortal danger one more time."

He stopped and looked at them and said, "It looks as if ruling a kingdom is just one damn crisis after another. I don't know if I'm strong enough to continually watch my wife be in danger like that."

Elsa looked at him coolly and replied, "It could be worse, if you marry into this family."

"How in the hell could it be worse?" he exclaimed incredulously.

She and Anna exchanged a look, then Anna looked at Kristoff with an expression that almost broke him. "You could watch our children be in danger," she whispered sadly.

At that, he fell to his knees and just gaped at the two sisters. "How in the name of all that is right and holy do you DO this?" he gasped.

Anna let go of Elsa's hand and got up, then knelt beside Kristoff and wrapped her arms around him. "The same way anybody deals with life, Kristoff. With family. With love. With hope that it will get better."

He could tell that she was crying; he felt the warm tears on his neck. Slowly, tentatively, he drew her into his arms and rested his chin on her head and whispered, "Will it get better?"

Elsa smiled sadly at them and said, "If we work at it. It is certain that it will never get better if we leave the world to the people like Pierre and the Duke and their ilk." She rose and continued, "I'll leave you two alone for now. Kristoff, I hope that you can forgive us for leaving you in the dark. I hope that you can accept that it was necessary. We're safe for now, the kingdom is safe, and an evil man has been neutralized. I only hope that the price was not too high for that result."

Then she left, wrapped in her cloak of duty and dignity.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Kristoff and Anna sat in front of the fire until it had burned to embers. They didn't talk; Anna didn't know what else to say to him, and he was still struggling with the emotional gut-punch delivered by the words _"You could watch our children be in danger."_

Anna suddenly sat up and yelled, "NO!", flailing her arms and almost punching Kristoff. She had apparently fallen asleep and into a bad dream.

Kristoff gently wrapped his arms around her to hold her and said, "Anna, it's okay, you're safe, it was just a dream."

She looked around wildly for a second, then realized where she was and who she was with. "Oh, Kristoff. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I think it's time for bed anyway." He stood and helped her to her feet. There was just enough light from the embers and the moon shining through the windows for them to stumble carefully to the door.

The hallway had the night lamps lit and they made their way to Anna's room. She turned to him and asked, "Will I see you tomorrow?"

The silence stretched out until she said, "Kristoff?"

"Anna, I … I don't know." He wouldn't look at her.

"Wait, what?" She thought she had heard him wrong.

"I … I think I need a couple days to think. This last week, this last month has been … surreal. I love you, but I'm not sure I'm strong enough to love you the way you should be loved." He looked at her, then had to look away at the hurt in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"K … Kristoff, if, if that's what you need, I'm okay with that. I understand." She didn't, really, but what else could she say? She loved him, she needed him, but if she really loved him then she had to put his needs ahead of her own. Didn't she?

They stood there for a few more minutes, then he took a deep breath and said, "I'll be up with the family. I need to talk to Ma, and Pabbie. Don't worry about me, okay?" This time he was able to look at her without turning away. She nodded, she didn't have the breath to say anything.

He leaned down, gave her a peck on the forehead, then turned and left.

She went into her bedroom and changed into her night clothes, then crawled into bed. Sleep wouldn't come. Throwing back the blankets, she grabbed her robe and went down the hall to Elsa's room. A soft knock and, "Elsa? Can I spend the night with you again?"

She waited, but there was no response. She frowned, then slipped inside. Elsa was a shapeless lump under her blankets, but the lump seemed to be shaking. Anna realized that her sister was crying. _"Oh, Elsa. We are both a mess tonight, aren't we?"_

Anna threw her robe on a chair, then crawled under the covers and embraced her sister. "I'm here, Elsa, I'm here. We still have each other." Their tears mingled until they had finally exhausted themselves enough to sleep.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

When the morning light woke Anna, Elsa was already up and dressed, fixing her hair at her vanity. She glanced at Anna in the mirror, finished pinning her hair up, placed her tiara carefully on her head, sighed and turned to face the bed.

"He left." It wasn't a question.

Anna was sitting up rubbing her eyes. She slumped back on the pillows and said, "Yeah. How did you know?"

Elsa came over, sat on the bed and caressed Anna's cheek. "I could tell it was overwhelming him. And that he would need to figure it all out. Sometimes you have to put some distance between you and the thing that's scaring you before you can see clearly how to deal with it." Elsa's eyes were focused somewhere far away.

"But he'll come back, right? When he figures it out?" Anna's eyes pleaded with Elsa for reassurance.

Elsa wished she could give her sister that reassurance, but her own experience forced her to be honest. "Anna, I don't know. When I ran off to the North Mountain, if Hans hadn't come with those soldiers and brought me back against my will, I don't know what I would have done. But Kristoff isn't dealing with something quite as bad as being responsible for freezing a kingdom and killing a sister."

"You didn't kill me."

"Yes, I did. That you managed to save yourself, and me, and the kingdom doesn't change the fact that you were dead, and I was responsible. That still, silent moment on the fjord when I held your frozen body in my arms is still the worst nightmare that I have."

Anna sat up, threw off the blankets and wondered, "Will they ever end? Our nightmares?"

Elsa leaned forward and let her forehead touch Anna's. "I don't know. I just … don't … know."Then she stood and said, "You need to get dressed. We have the funerals today."

Anna finally noticed that Elsa was in her mourning clothes.

"Gerda has your dress laid out and ready. Do you want to eat? We have a couple of hours before the service begins."

"No. No, I don't think I can eat. Oh, gods, Elsa! How can I face those families? I'm responsible for those men being dead!" Anna thought she would vomit.

Elsa sat down on the bed again and wrapped Anna in her arms. "No, Anna, no! Rob Pierre is responsible for those murders, not you." She rubbed comforting circles on Anna's shoulders while her sister struggled to deal with her guilt.

Finally Anna pulled back, wiped the tears from her cheeks and swung her feet out of bed. "I'm … okay, Elsa. Let me get dressed, I'll meet you in half an hour."

Elsa nodded and they left the room to deal with the day.


	24. The Given Sacrifice

"_Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it."  
_**― Ann Landers **

"_I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up." _  
**― Lauren Oliver, Delirium **

"_If she loved him the way she said she did, she wanted him whole. Maybe this was what love meant after all: sacrifice and selflessness. It did not mean hearts and flowers and a happy ending, but the knowledge that another's well-being is more important than one's own." _**  
― Melissa de la Cruz, Lost in Time **

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

It had been a week since Kristoff had left, and he had neither returned nor sent a message. For the first few days Anna found it hard to suppress the urge to saddle up her horse and ride off to the Valley of Living Rock to drag him back. Then she despaired that she would never see him again, that the whole idea of being part of the royal family had finally scared him off.

Elsa spent most of the days locked away in her study with her advisers, dealing with the mess left behind by Pierre's conspiracy. Most nights she comforted Anna before they both fell into troubled sleep.

"I don't understand him, Elsa. I don't," Anna groaned. She was sprawled out on the couch in front of the fireplace in the library, her head in Elsa's lap.

"Anna, try to put yourself in Kristoff's place. He's suddenly in an environment as foreign to him as a song bird dropped into the fjord and expected to swim. He loves you, but now he sees that marrying you has far more profound implications than he had ever realized." She gently ran her fingers through Anna's hair. "Try this – what if Kristoff comes back and says he loves you and wants to marry you … but that the life of Prince Consort isn't something that he can deal with. Would you renounce your royal status and go follow him to be the wife of an ice harvester? Even one who's the Master of a Guild?"

"The Council would never let me do that!"

"I'm the Queen, and you get to do whatever I say. If that would make you happy, the Council can go drown in the fjord. But," Elsa added gently, "You're dodging the question."

For several minutes the only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire. Finally, Anna looked up at her sister and whispered. "I … don't know. I … think so, I love him, I do. Oh, Elsa, why is life so complicated?"

The Queen sighed and said, "It's … just the way it is for us. The conflict between our own wants and needs and the demands of duty. As royalty, rulers of the kingdom, we spend our lives under the yoke of those demands – Kristoff is struggling with the thought of taking on that burden. He loves you, and he thought he knew what that meant. But events have shown him that his sacrifices for you so far are small compared to giving up his whole life and being responsible for ruling at your side some day." Elsa stood and held out her hand to her sister. "Come on, let's go to bed and try to sleep through the night for a change."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa's sleep was troubled by The Dream again, with the added horror of killing Pierre. He hung there on the wall like a bug pinned to an exhibit board, her ice through his heart and his eyes accusing her. She knew that she had no choice, that he would have killed Anna, or Elsa, or the guards or Kristoff or all of them if she hadn't acted to eliminate his threat. She shouldn't feel guilty, but she would never be comfortable with the necessity of taking a life, even as a last resort, even the life of someone as evil as Pierre.

When she wasn't thrashing through her nightmares, her days weren't much better. There were still ongoing diplomatic problems caused by the whole mess with Weselton that needed to be smoothed over. Not every kingdom or nation was quite willing to accept that the Snow Queen wasn't a weapon that threatened them, even though she hadn't really destroyed Weselton, just helped the Duke find a new profession. It was ironic that Weselton was now one of Arendelle's best allies under the new Duchess. The stress this caused Elsa continued to wear her down. Her thoughts kept coming back to the feeling that she was more the problem for Arendelle than a solution. And considering methods for solving that problem.

She had to do something. But she couldn't leave Anna. Not yet. Not … yet.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

It was quiet in the stable – Anna had come to get her horse saddled for a ride, but she couldn't help checking in on Sven's stall. It was still empty. Except for Olaf, sitting on a hay bale.

"You miss Sven, huh?" Anna asked the little snowlem. Olaf nodded and kept humming a little tune. She sat down next to him and sighed. "I miss Kristoff. I'm worried he won't come back, Olaf."

He looked at her and patted her shoulder to reassure her. "Don't worry, Anna, he will."

"But what if he won't forgive me – " She was interrupted by a voice she had been afraid she'd never hear again.

"I think the real question is whether you'll forgive me, Anna." Kristoff stood in the door to the stall, wringing his cap in his hands. "I'm sorry I left you, but I had to figure this out. And I realized that I was being a fool and that I needed to come crawling to you and apologize to you and Elsa for being such a coward. And ask if you would be willing to consider letting me start over and court you again, if you can forgive me."

"I … Kristoff, I'm confused. I'm not sure how I feel. The last ten days are the most miserable I've spent since … since the coronation."

Kristoff was lost, groping for his footing. He still didn't know if she'd take him back. His heart sunk at the thought that she wouldn't, but he couldn't blame her if she sent him packing back to the lonely existence he led before he met her. _"You really screwed this up, Kristoff. For a guy raised by love experts, you sure know how to botch it." _

"Anna, I know I screwed this up; you would be perfectly justified in never speaking to me again, but I want to tell you how sorry I am I let you down. There's no excuse for it, and if you can't forgive me, I'll understand."

"I forgive you. I even understand why you left – Elsa and I had talked about it and I realized that you were overwhelmed and that I needed to give you time to figure it out. But I need to beg your forgiveness, too. I put you at risk by not filling you in on my 'plan', which was a stupid plan and I should have listened to Elsa and – "

He stepped close to her and took her hand. "We both made mistakes, Feisty Pants. Can we admit that, learn from it, and move on? I'll never let my doubts get in the way to my commitment to you again."

"Yes, Kristoff. Let's do that. Come on, let's go inside for lunch and fill Elsa in. She's been worried about you, too."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Anna huddled deep under her blankets – she been up late last night with Kristoff, talking over everything that had happened, both of them sharing their hopes and dreams and fears about what their life together could become. The sky had begun to lighten before they finally parted.

There was an insistent knocking on her door and Kai's voice was saying, "Princess Anna? Princess Anna, please, we need you."

Anna ignored him and burrowed even deeper, mumbling something that might have been "go 'way"

"Princess Anna, please! You need to come immediately. It's … it's your sister."

Elsa? What on earth could be the problem with Elsa? She threw off her blankets, got a robe on and opened the door.

"What, Kai? What about Elsa?"

Kai had the oddest look on his face. "You need to get dressed, please, and come down to the Council chambers. It's urgent."

Now Anna was frightened. The last time he had that look on his face and asked her to come down to the Council chambers was almost four years ago, when … they told her about her parents.

She had never gotten dressed more quickly in her life.

When she ran into the room, the Admiral, the Bishop, Captain Gunnarsson and Kai were waiting for her.

"What is it, what's wrong?" she demanded. "Where's Elsa? Where's my sister?"

"Please, Your Highness, sit down and we will share what we know," the Admiral gestured at her chair. Once she sat down, the rest of them did also, and he pushed a leather portfolio toward her.

"This morning, Kai found this in your sister's room, along with this." He slid Elsa's tiara toward Anna. "They were on her bed, the portfolio was addressed to you. She is not anywhere in the castle, no one saw her leave, and we were unwilling to open that without your permission."

No, no, no, this can't be happening. Anna stared at the portfolio and the tiara and felt herself choking, unable to breathe.

"O … open it. I don't think I can." Anna whispered.

The Admiral opened the portfolio and pulled out two envelopes. Reading what was written on them, he handed one to Anna and said apologetically, "This one says, 'For Princess Anna's Eyes Only'"

With hands shaking so hard she could barely open the envelope, she managed to pull out the sheet of paper inside and unfold it. _'My dearest Anna … I love you so much that it breaks my heart to leave you,'_ it began, in Elsa's strong clear handwriting. Anna's sudden tears blurred the rest into illegibility.

While she struggled to control her outburst, the Admiral had opened and read what was in the other envelope. Eyes wide, he gasped.

"What is it, Mikeal? What does it say?" asked Bishop Norgaard.

The only sound in the room was Anna's quiet sniffles as she struggled to stifle her tears. She looked at him and said the same thing, "What is it, Admiral?"

In response, the Admiral stood and bowed deeply to her. Standing at attention, he said, "It is a Decree of Abdication, Your Majesty. Your sister has abdicated the Throne of Arendelle, and you are now the Queen."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Elsa was standing on the balcony of her Ice Palace when Olaf came bounding through the doors.

"I told Marshmallow what's going to happen. He'll be waiting for us on the front stairs." He reached up to take her hand, as solemn as he had ever been. He could feel how troubled Elsa was about why she had come here and what she felt she had to do.

"Thank you, Olaf." She took a last look at the sunrise, drinking in its beauty for the last time from this balcony. It seemed an appropriate bookend – she had reveled in the view of the sunrise from this spot when she built the Ice Palace.

"_Oh, Anna, please forgive me for leaving you; I know I promised never to do that, but it's best this way. Arendelle will be safer with you as Queen and me as just history fading into the mists of legend."_ Elsa had planned this carefully, finally accepting that the world would never trust a kingdom ruled by a mage with the power Elsa had demonstrated. By the time Anna and her advisers found her letters and came here to check on her, it would all be over. At least her sister had Kristoff back. Elsa couldn't have left Anna to deal with losing the two people closest to her, her entire remaining family.

"Come, Olaf, let's go down to Marshmallow. We need to get this … over with."

She turned away from the sunrise and led Olaf inside.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

Anna had stormed out of the castle to the stables and ordered her horse saddled. Gunnarsson barely had time to get his men mounted up to go with her. She was so frantic that she didn't even wait for Kristoff to harness Sven, just shouted at him that they needed to get up to the North Mountain NOW!

Anna was interpreting Elsa's letter as a suicide note. There had been a panicked search for Olaf, and he was nowhere to be found. If Gunnarsson could have stopped her from this mad expedition he would have, but in truth he needed to know Elsa's fate as badly as Anna did. The whole kingdom needed to know. Was Elsa simply gone, or was she dead?

They rode as hard as they could: gallop for a distance, then canter, then a walk, repeat. It was a the only way to move fast on horseback without killing the horse. There wasn't a horse alive that could gallop all the way to the North Mountain, and Anna knew it. That didn't make it any easier for her to suppress the urge to kick her mount into a gallop instead of a walk.

The little troop finally made it to the clearing just below the cliff that hid the Ice Palace from view. They dismounted, and Gunnarsson assigned two of the men to stay with the horses. The rest of them followed Anna to the opening in the cliff that led to the clearing in front of the Ice Palace.

When Anna came through the little tunnel and looked up, she fell to her hands and knees and cried out, "No!"

There was no sign of the Ice Palace. It was gone as though it had never been. Elsa was dead. She had explained it to them before she had gone into captivity with the Weselton troops.

They had been discussing how her forces would know if the Weselton men had killed her. Elsa had told them, _"In my research into my powers, I found very little about where they came from or why I have them. But one thing was clear: when I die, anything that I had created with my magic would also pass away. Olaf, Marshmallow, the Ice Palace...all gone."_

And the Ice Palace was gone; there was no sign of Marshmallow or Olaf, either. Elsa was dead.

Captain Gunnarsson turned to his men and ordered, "Jorgensen!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Take the men, search this area thoroughly. See if you can find a bod … anything out of place, anything that could indicate that Queen Elsa had been here!"

Jorgensen waved the rest of the men to him, gave them quick instructions, then they fanned out in their search.

Anna had curled up into a ball and was sobbing in the snow. Gunnarsson knelt and gently touched her shoulder, "Your Majesty, please. We must return to Arendelle, we must report this to the Royal Council and … and the people. We will mourn her properly, but for now, please let us get you back to the Castle."

She shook off his hand and screamed, "Leave me alone! She not dead, she's **not** … she **can't** be dead!"

Gunnarsson was torn; he didn't know what to do. He felt a touch on his own shoulder. "Let me."

It was Kristoff – he and Sven had finally caught up to them. Gunnarsson nodded and stood up, letting Kristoff kneel next to Anna.

"Anna," Kristoff said, touching her gently on her shoulder.

"K … Kristoff?" Anna turned to look at him, then sat up and threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed even harder. He held her and comforted her until she finally stopped crying. They sat there, looking at the empty snow where her sister's glorious creation had stood.

Sergeant Jorgensen walked up to them and saluted Anna, saying, "Your Majesty, we have searched the area thoroughly. There is no sign of Queen Elsa. One of the men found this, however." He held out his hands to show her Elsa's coronation cape, tattered, torn, crusted with snow, the blue brooch still attached.

Anna took it and clutched it to her chest. _"Damn you, Elsa, damn you for lying to me. You said you'd never leave me. Again." _This cape reminded her of the chaos of Coronation Day, of her wild quest to find her sister. This time, however, Anna had no idea why Elsa had chosen to leave, to abandon her kingdom and her sister.

She was angry again. Anger was good. Anger pushed off the reality that her sister was probably dead. There was no body. The only evidence was absence; absence of Elsa, of Olaf, of Marshmallow and the Ice Palace. And that damned letter.

"Your Majesty, I think it would be best if we returned to Arendelle," Gunnarsson interrupted her concentration. Or tried to. The honorific didn't penetrate her focus; to Anna 'Your Majesty' was her sister.

Kristoff finally reached out to touch her gently on the arm. "Anna, we should go back. You need to let people know what you found here."

She closed her eyes tightly to keep the tears from falling, then nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, and we need to talk." She turned to Gunnarsson and ordered, "Captain, if you would have one of the men lead my horse, I will be riding with Master Bjorgman. We will return to Arendelle immediately." She stalked off.

The Captain watched her go and said to Kristoff, "Master Bjorgman, she is distressed and grieving. She is the Queen now. We must all do what we can to support her." He turned away to order his men to return to their horses and mount up for the ride back to the castle.

Kristoff started down toward his sled when Gunnarsson's words finally slammed into his brain. He almost fell to his knees as the implications hit him... _"Queen? She's the Queen? Oh, crap, She's the QUEEN!"_

Recovering his balance, he staggered down to where Anna was climbing into the front seat of the sled. Kristoff got in, took the reins, checked to see if the Captain and the rest of the guardsmen were mounted and ready, then flicked the reins to get Sven moving.

For the first mile or so, the ride was silent except for the hoof-beats of Sven and the horses and the _skritching_ of the sled runners on the snow. Anna sat with her arms crossed, looking away from Kristoff and struggling not to cry.

A few more moments of silence before Anna uncrossed her arms, turned to him and said, "The whole courtship thing is way more complicated now. Or, maybe not as complicated. I'm not sure." Anna's thoughts were dull and miserable as she thought about how the kingdom was now her responsibility. _"Oh, Elsa, how could you do this to me?"_

"How could it be more complicated and not as complicated?" he asked.

She hunched forward and said, "Well, for one thing, I'm the Queen now." Anna continued, "We came up here to check because Elsa had left me a letter that sounded like she was going to … end it all and I needed to see the Ice Palace because I couldn't find Olaf. So if Elsa was dead that meant I inherited the Crown, but it doesn't matter if she's dead because she had abdicated and left me Queen. So I'm stuck with it no matter what."

"What? She abdicated?" Kristoff felt he had missed something, but Anna had left the castle in a frantic hurry to ride up here and left him to catch up. This was the first chance Anna had to fill him in on the events of the morning.

"Yes. Elsa … she set it up. She set all of this up, the stinker. I'll explain it all in detail when we get back, but the important thing is that I'm not of age yet. Until I'm 21, the Council has some say in running the kingdom, and could overrule me if they chose to. I'm not Queen Regnant yet. My marriage is suddenly … more political." She wasn't looking at him; she was looking into the distance, down the mountain to where Arendelle had come into view.

Kristoff absorbed what she said. Elsa was dead; Anna was the Queen, but she wasn't yet of age. The Council could prevent her from marrying. Or they could try to force her into marrying someone who wasn't a commoner, who wasn't **him**. Oh, no, what had he done? He could lose everything good that had come into his life.

They rode in silence for another mile or so before Anna spoke again. Her voice was soft, as though she were talking to herself. "I have a lot to do."

"Like what?"

"I have a funeral to plan. My sister's funeral. Another funeral for someone who is just … not there anymore. And another stone with no one beneath it." She crossed her arms and slumped, huffing out a long breath. "And then … then I need to figure out how to be the Queen."

The rest of the trip to Arendelle was spent in silence. There didn't seem to be anything more to say.

~**not** fin~

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

**Authors's note:**

**(Sticks head up from bunker, wearing helmet and flak jacket and waving a little white flag.)**

So this story took a weird turn, it was originally going to end with the scene where Elsa spiked Pierre. But my muse suddenly decided I was really writing a trilogy, and this was only the second story in that trilogy. Thousands of words later, the final story in the trilogy was roughed out enough that I could see where this one had to go. Including everything that happened after the spiking. EVERYTHING that happened after the spiking.

The good news is, a lot of the third story is finished, so I will post chapter 1 very soon. Like within 72 hours.

In the first story of the trilogy, "Worthy Queen of Greatness", Weselton comes back for revenge. In this story, Elsa pays the Duke back, but there is still quite a bit of political shenanigans going on.

In the final story, well, let's just say that revenge still lurks in the shadows, and old enemies aren't quite finished with Arendelle and its Queen.

And please remember how much I love Elsa. Really.

Loud shout out to my beta, stillslightlynerdy, who beat me into submission on some really critical plot points. Plus some pointed commentary from jedijae when sss was busy having a Real Life. Thanks, guys.


End file.
